Rebirth: Starting from Lighting Up the Tech Tree

Chapter 141 The Discussion on Car Manufacturing

Three days after the annual meeting, Zuo Cheng called the core members of his team into the conference room.

When Chen Hao entered, he saw that Han Lu and Shen Yiming were already seated, as was Liu Wei. Even Fang Ze, who usually disliked meetings, had moved a chair and sat in the corner. The five of them looked at each other, none of them knowing what they were going to talk about.

Zuo Cheng didn't waste any words. He stood directly in front of the whiteboard and wrote two words.

"Building cars."

Chen Hao's chair leg rattled against the floor. He stared blankly at the two words, making sure he wasn't mistaken, before finally saying, "Boss, what you just wrote was... 'Building cars'?"

"Yes." Zuo Cheng turned around and casually placed the marker in the whiteboard tray. "It's not about building the whole car, it's about building the car's intelligent brain. An intelligent driving system."

There was a silence in the conference room for nearly three seconds.

Han Lu was the first to react, frowning as she asked, "Isn't this a huge leap? We've only just established ourselves in drones, and our agricultural business is just starting to take off. Are we really going to jump into automobiles now?"

"The timing is perfect." Zuo Cheng pulled out a chair and sat down, turning his laptop to a height where everyone could see it clearly. "Look at this data. The global penetration rate of new energy vehicles was just over 5% in 2020. The next ten years will be a window of opportunity for explosive growth. But hardware isn't the core; whoever can master intelligent technology will win."

Shen Yiming leaned back in his chair, his eyes already brightening. He understood technology, and he had considered Zuo Cheng's suggestion several times in his mind, finding it increasingly logical.

"Intelligent driving requires environmental perception, path planning, and real-time decision-making," Shen Yiming tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table. "We happen to have a foundation in all three. The algorithms accumulated from drones can be directly transferred to vehicles."

Fang Ze added, "We've been working on sensor fusion since we were developing the flight control system. The logic of fusion using GPS accelerometers, barometers, and multi-sensor data is similar to the vehicle's camera, millimeter-wave radar, and laser radar systems—just on different levels. There's a lot of engineering involved, but there are no barriers in terms of direction."

Zuo Cheng nodded: "That's right. So we're not starting from scratch; we're transferring our existing experience to a new track."

Zuo Cheng nodded to him and continued, "After activating our unmanned system branch, we obtained the environmental perception fusion and autonomous decision-making engine. Regarding V2X communication, we've done preliminary research on unmanned vehicles and now have a prototype. What's missing?"

Fang Ze put down the pen he had been twirling and said, "Automotive-grade certification. Cars are different from consumer electronics; they need to pass ISO 26262, with functional safety at level A or higher. The process takes anywhere from one to three years."

"And there's road test data," Shen Yiming added. "Intelligent driving relies on data; without billions of kilometers of road test data, the algorithm's limits are limited."

Zuo Cheng wrote the two questions on the whiteboard, and then added a line below them: Solution.

"The certification issue can be resolved by partnering with car manufacturers. They have the qualifications, we provide the technology, it's a complementary approach. As for the road test data issue, I have another idea." He paused, letting everyone wait two seconds, before continuing, "How many drones do we have in operation?"

Han Lu flipped through the report in her hand: "Currently, there are approximately 1200 aircraft online nationwide. They accumulate over 8 kilometers of flight time daily."

"The environmental perception data accumulated by drones has a lot in common with road scenes. Algorithms for obstacle recognition, dynamic object tracking, and path replanning under airflow disturbances can all be used on the ground," Zuo Cheng said calmly. "We don't lack data; what we lack is the engineering capability for scene transfer."

Shen Yiming slammed his hand on the table, barely able to contain himself: "This idea is correct. Transfer learning and cross-domain adaptation are theoretically entirely feasible. I hadn't thought of this direction before, but after you mentioned it, I feel it's definitely a possibility."

Chen Hao wasn't so optimistic. He rubbed his chin and laid out the problem clearly: "What about funding? Building our own intelligent driving R&D line will cost tens of millions a year just for the hardware testing facilities. How much cash do we have on hand right now?"

"We don't need to build everything ourselves." Zuo Cheng had already done the math. "The model is technology licensing; we don't participate in vehicle manufacturing. We provide the system and charge based on the number of vehicles installed, keeping capital expenditure to a minimum. Automakers provide the facilities, test vehicles, and personnel; we provide the technology and algorithms. It's a win-win situation."

Liu Wei had been listening attentively, then looked up and asked, "So how do we find partner automakers? There are so many new car companies in China now, who would be willing to entrust the most crucial aspect of intelligent driving to a company of our size?"

Han Lu had already searched for a few names on her phone. She looked up and said, "I'll make contact. I'm familiar with this; I'll sound them out first."

Zuo Cheng took a picture of the contents of the whiteboard, closed his notebook, and looked around.

"The division of labor is settled. Shen Yiming will develop the drone data migration solution and produce a technical roadmap report within two weeks. Fang Ze will outline the path and timeline for automotive-grade certification. Han Lu will contact car companies to get a preliminary understanding, without discussing details. Chen Hao will draft a financial plan, estimating the cash flow for the first three years based on the technology licensing model."

As everyone stood up, Fang Ze took out his phone and began to check the ISO 26262 certification process.

Shen Yiming walked to the door, then turned back and asked, "President Zuo, when did you start thinking about this?"

Zuo Cheng leaned back in his chair, his tone calm: "The moment the branches are activated. V2X communication, environmental perception fusion, and autonomous decision-making engine—these three components together form a complete intelligent driving foundation. I'm just laying it out on the table to explain it clearly."

Shen Yiming nodded, pushed open the door, and walked out. His voice, hushed as he and Fang Ze discussed technical routes, could be heard echoing in the corridor, fading into the distance.

Zuo Cheng was the only one left in the conference room. He stared at the two words on the whiteboard and tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table.

The tech tree system never gave him any direction, but each activated branch was like a key, unlocking a door he had already seen but couldn't enter yet. As soon as the door to the autonomous system opened, he knew the car door was waiting ahead as well.

He spent over a year conquering this market with drones. He plans to use the same approach with new energy vehicles, but this time, he intends to move even faster.

In early spring outside the window, the sky in Hangzhou is gradually brightening, and a few rays of sunlight slant in and fall on the table.

Zuo Cheng's phone vibrated. It was a message from Han Lu: "We've found our first target, a mid-sized new energy vehicle company in China. The CEO happens to be an old client of ours. We've arranged to meet next week."

He replied with two words: Okay.

He put his phone back in his pocket, stood up, and walked into the hallway.

In the hallway, the lights in room 402 were bright, and the fans in the server room hummed softly. Every corner here was in operation.