The World Artificial Intelligence Conference 2021 (WAIC 2021) was recently ended with a focus on the growing autonomous driving technology industry. However, the event didn’t end without a bit of drama. Huawei announced the removal of the head of its autonomous driving unit Su Jing. The tech giant later issued a statement that the former head was removed for inappropriate comments made about Tesla’s autonomous self-driving technology at the event. Su had claimed Tesla vehicles are killing people, apparently referring to the autopilot issue that has been reported severally in recent times.

Su Jing has been with Huawei for many years with outstanding ability in autonomous technology and a good staff rating. He has previously served as the chief architect of Huawei Terminal Company and later as the head of Huawei’s intelligent driving product department. In particular, he took the lead in creating the autonomous driving system solution ADS, which was first showcased on the BAIC Arcfox Alpha S. The car is the first smart electric car equipped with Huawei’s lidar solution and the first model equipped with Huawei Harmony OS car system.

Thus, there are speculations in some quarters that his removal might be due to other reasons other than the Tesla comments. Before now, there were rumors that Weilai (NIO) and other car manufacturers had approached Su Jing and were looking to poach him from Huawei. However, both Mr. Su and NIO denied the rumor. Although Huawei still retains him in its employment, the autonomous driving expert may soon pitch his tent somewhere else.

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The automobile industry has in recent times seen new entrants especially with the shift towards autonomous and electric vehicles. Just recently, Chinese tech giant Xiaomi announced plans to commence the manufacture of electric vehicles (EVs). Another Chinese manufacturer, drone-maker DJI is finally making a move towards the automobile industry.

A post by DJI Automotive’s official WeChat account has revealed that the company will be releasing car-related products at the Shanghai Auto Show which will commence on April 19 and end on April 28. The announcement did not specify the product that we should expect from the renowned commercial drone-maker but can be taken as an official announcement of the brand’s entrance into the automobile industry.

Of course, DJI won’t likely build a complete car anytime soon but the company had earlier hinted of plans to focus on smart driving systems as well as software and hardware solutions to help automakers quickly build affordable smart cars.

DJI Automotive is said to be a brand of DJI’s intelligent driving business, which is committed to using space intelligent technology to empower travel, focusing on the R&D, production, and sales of intelligent driving systems and their core components. Earlier this year, job listings by the Chinese tech giant revealed it was hiring engineers with experience in related fields such as auto electronics, autonomous driving, in-car software, and the automobile industry.

Some persons familiar with the matter also disclosed that that drone maker was planning to sell driver-assist technology which includes LiDAR sensors, a crucial component of self-driving vehicles. At present, DJI has nearly 70% of the global commercial drone market, and the LiDAR technology used on drones also plays a key role in autonomous driving.

DJI has reportedly also got other solutions for autonomous driving functions. We’ll have to wait for the event to see what the company has in store.

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