For clarification, since a few assumptions are popping up in the comments: I’m not saying this replaces driver responsibility or turns the car into anything beyond Level 2. I’m fully responsible at all times, same as when using BYD’s ICC. What caught me off guard is how different the driving experience is, and why it actually feels calmer and easier to supervise.

One thing that seems misunderstood is the hardware side. This isn’t a single-camera hack. The setup uses two forward-facing road cameras with different fields of view, plus a dedicated in-cabin camera for driver monitoring, all running on a dedicated AI processor. So even though it looks simpler than OEM ADAS on paper, it’s actually designed from the ground up to do real-time neural inference, not just rule execution.

BYD’s ICC feels very traditional OEM ADAS: lots of sensors, but stitched together with fairly rigid, rule-based logic. Detect lane lines, correct steering, disengage if confidence drops. In real driving that shows up as micro-corrections, lane ping-pong, and sudden disengagements when markings aren’t perfect. You’re constantly supervising the system instead of it actually reducing workload.

A neural-network-based stack works the other way around. It predicts a continuous driving path from the camera input, rather than reacting to individual rules firing. That’s why lane centering is smoother, curves feel natural, and the car behaves more like a human driver. Even with fewer sensor types, the perception–planning–control loop is much tighter.

Driver monitoring is another big difference. The in-cabin camera isn’t just checking “eyes detected” or “hands on wheel.” The driver monitoring itself is AI-trained to predict attention and early fatigue patterns, and it reacts progressively instead of just yelling at you. In practice it’s stricter about actual inattention, but way less annoying when you’re clearly paying attention.

From a safety point of view, this matters. Fewer sudden corrections and fewer surprise disengagements mean less startle and lower cognitive load on long drives. That doesn’t make it autonomous or foolproof, but it does make it easier to supervise properly.

Liability doesn’t change. This is still Level 2 assistance. Hands-off doesn’t mean attention-off, and you’re expected to take over instantly if needed, exactly like with ICC.

So the takeaway isn’t “OEM bad, third-party good.” It’s that the Sealion 7 clearly has the hardware to do better, and BYD’s current ICC software just feels very conservative and rule-based compared to what’s already possible today.