PIX Rewinding 2017
When it comes to making a car, there seem to be tons of problems and issues: thousands of components that you can’t even count, requirement for manufacturing experts and equipment, hard-to-get licenses, years of iteration time…. not to mention the large funding behind the industry.
That’s basically everything we came across in the mind before starting PIX. But as a startup, somehow we believe we can make it, to be a car manufacturer. Not common car, but self-driving car. We are located in China, which provides easy access to various components and small gadgets (at least we had thought it that way back then)
Our confidence increased a lot after attending the Automechanika in Shanghai, an international trade fair for automotive parts, equipment and services suppliers. It was like a new world, with all kinds of car parts that we can directly use. We were super excited and our future car seemed to be floating in front of our eyes already.
Some suppliers would be quite helpful to our project, making it possible for a suitable approach of drive-by-wire, the first step of a self-driving car. At the faire, there were by-wire steering and electronic braking system etc., these actuation parts can be put together to realize by-wire control. We communicated with the suppliers and kept their contact cards.
Things slightly changed when we came back. We called them one by one with all the passions and hopes. The first questions from them would always be “What’s your brand?” “What’s the quantity?” “Have you got all the licenses?”. We answered in details, “We are a startup. We are building our own self-driving car, currently it’s a prototype but the future quantity will be large when its various applications come to the market”. And then they lost their interests. We called, messaged and emailed again later, but didn’t get any response ever since.
It turns out that the automobile industry is still a game for large enterprises. The suppliers and partners only play with someone in that tier. Fresh-coming startups won’t even get the chance to enter the tier. Still, it’s an outsider-exlusive and high-entry-barrier playground.
Though it’s hard and we may not have a clue at this moment, we’ve got some dreams to live up to. There are some small companies visionary enough to change a industry. RelativitySpace, a small startup who builds its own rockets with 3D printing. It seems like a dream but they are working on it and are doing not bad. Building a rocket is much harder than building a car, to some extent. And startups like Open Motors, Divergent 3D , Local Motors etc., they are contributing to the paradigm shift in automobile industry with their unique approach. So why not a try? We think. We are inspired and motivated to set up PIX Factory and to build the car with new way of manufacturing.
A small rewinding for 2017 before diving into 2018. The road is ahead and we are excited to explore more. Happy new year guys and 2018 is gonna be awesome !
P.S.: A big plan for us in March, 2018
Move-it Hackathon for self-driving, aiming to build an affordable development platform(chassis) for self-driving, solving various engineering challenges along the process. Global engineers, students and hackers who are passionate about the self-driving industry are more than welcome to participate. Apply here: https://www.pixmoving.com/move-it
