Current location:politics >>
China's autonomous driving enters "fast lane" with commercial operations
politics317People have gathered around
Introduction* On Aug. 8, driverless robotaxi services were launched in designated areas in the Chinese cities of ...
* On Aug. 8, driverless robotaxi services were launched in designated areas in the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Chongqing, marking a significant step in the country's exploration of the commercialization of autonomous driving.
* Thanks to continuous technology innovation and policy support, China has made steady strides in autonomous driving, from running trials in semi-closed areas to venturing it on open roads, as the market potential of this technology continues to grow in the country.
* The Chinese government has provided considerable policy support for the development of autonomous driving. The complicated traffic conditions in China also bring opportunities for companies to improve their technologies and optimize their products and services.
by Xinhua writers Ye Ting, Ma Xiaocheng and Hong Zehua
GUANGZHOU, Aug. 15 (Xinhua) -- On Aug. 8, driverless robotaxi services were launched in designated areas in the Chinese cities of Wuhan and Chongqing, marking a significant step in the country's exploration of the commercialization of autonomous driving.
Thanks to continuous technology innovation and policy support, China has made steady strides in autonomous driving, from running trials in semi-closed areas to venturing it on open roads, as the market potential of this technology continues to grow in the country.
An autonomous driving taxi, operated by Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai, runs on a road in Nansha District of Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province, June 15, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Dawei)
FAST LANE
Chinese tech giant Baidu is the only company that has obtained the permit to offer driverless robotaxi services on open roads in Wuhan and Chongqing. The service is provided on Baidu's autonomous driving platform Apollo Go.
"We have adopted multiple measures to ensure passengers' safety, such as single vehicle intelligence, monitoring redundancy, and parallel driving," said Xu Baoqiang, general manager of Baidu's autonomous driving vehicle department.
Before the launch in Wuhan and Chongqing, Apollo Go had provided autonomous driving services in cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, with more than 1 million orders and the total testing mileage exceeding 32 million km.
An autonomous driving vehicle, operated by Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai, runs on a road in Qianhai, Shenzhen City, south China's Guangdong Province, Aug. 1, 2022. (Xinhua/Liang Xu)
Like Baidu, many autonomous driving companies in China have been striving to advance the technology and accelerate its commercialization.
WeRide, headquartered in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, is specialized in applying autonomous driving to intelligent transportation, freight, and sanitation. Its driverless sanitation vehicle, Robosweeper, has been tested on open roads in Guangzhou's Nansha District since May.
Shenzhen-based DeepRoute.ai aims to make autonomous driving less costly. It has cut down the cost of Level-4 autonomous driving solutions to less than 10,000 U.S. dollars and applied it in its robotaxi fleet and medium-duty trucks, according to Zhou Guang, founder of DeepRoute.ai.
"The technology has been well-received among automakers, and we're working closely with them to integrate our system into consumer vehicles so that truly affordable Level-4 vehicles will sooner be a reality," said Zhou.
Photo taken on July 17, 2021 shows the autonomous driving buses invented by WeRide and Yutong Group Co., Ltd. in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Yin Jiajie)
FAVORABLE FACTORS
The Chinese government has provided considerable policy support for the development of autonomous driving.
In February 2020, the National Development and Reform Commission and other government departments jointly issued a guideline to promote the innovation and development of intelligent vehicles. Authorities in several major Chinese cities later followed suit.
As a pioneer of China's reform and opening-up, Guangdong Province has long been an avid promoter of entrepreneurial and innovative ideas. In 2019, the provincial capital Guangzhou took the lead in the country in permitting road tests for autonomous driving. Now, the city's self-driving mileage has reached 2.55 million km.
Policymakers have created a favorable environment for road tests and public-facing operations, laying the foundation for accumulating mileage and corner cases to validate and continuously improve Level-4 algorithms, said Zhou.
Besides supportive policies, the complicated traffic conditions in China also bring opportunities for autonomous driving companies to improve their technologies and optimize their products and services.
For Chinese autonomous vehicle company Pony.ai, the company's systems need to cope with diverse elements on the road in Guangzhou, such as electric scooters, bicycles, and couriers, to ensure the safe operation of its intelligent vehicles.
"The complex scenarios can create more valuable data, which can help with our technology upgrading," said Mo Luyi, vice president of Pony.ai.
China's booming auto manufacturing industry also provides a solid foundation for developing autonomous vehicles. As a primary auto production base in China, Guangzhou made 2.95 million cars in 2020.
Many autonomous vehicle enterprises have settled in the city. The gathering of production lines, parts suppliers, and start-ups has facilitated these companies to source cutting-edge components in Guangzhou.
An autonomous driving vehicle is in driverless test on a road in Yizhuang of Beijing, capital of China, Oct. 19, 2021. (Xinhua/Peng Ziyang)
ACTIVE COMMERCIALIZATION
Chinese enterprises are endeavoring to expand the scope and scale of road tests and operations regularly to provide fully autonomous driving services. They also want to adapt to complex scenarios with advanced technologies.
Pony.ai, for instance, takes advantage of its multi-sensor system that encompasses laser radar, millimeter-wave radar and a high-definition camera to ensure redundant monitoring for safety.
"So far, our autonomous driving vehicles have recorded no active driving accidents in 13 million km of open road travel," said Mo.
Many autonomous driving enterprises in China, with upstream and downstream partners, are promoting the building of an industrial chain to accelerate mass production.
They also aim to gradually improve the traffic participation rate of autonomous driving vehicles and the public's understanding and acceptance, as well as help autonomous driving play a greater role in various scenarios.
Pony.ai has created strategic cooperation with On Time, a travel platform under Guangzhou Automobile Group, to deploy more robotaxis on the streets and gradually improve the public's trust in autonomous driving.
DeepRoute.ai has partnered with Deppon Logistics Co., Ltd. to equip trucks with Level-4 autonomous driving technology to improve their capacity and efficiency.
"Intelligent connected vehicles are highly encouraged on the national and local level. We can expect more cities to open up public roads for autonomous driving companies to test and operate their vehicles," said Zhou.
(Video reporter: Li Jiale; video editors: Zhao Yuchao, Yin Le) ■
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Stellar Station news portal”。http://britishvirginislands.antjekoch.com/article-32e699955.html
Related articles
Judge orders man accused of opening fire outside Wrigley Field held without bail
politicsCHICAGO (AP) — A federal magistrate judge on Monday ordered a man accused of opening fire on a busy ...
【politics】
Read moreAddicted to hunting lodges, horses and endless parties, the free
politicsShe was the last of the big spenders. An overdraft of seven million pounds at Coutts, a taste for ch ...
【politics】
Read moreBritish POW who was tortured with electric shocks, beaten and starved by Putin's troops in five
politicsA former British soldier who fought alongside Ukrainian troops before being captured and tortured by ...
【politics】
Read more
Popular articles
- Investigators return to Long Island home of Gilgo Beach serial killing suspect
- In Charles and William's absence, the little
- What would open warfare between Israel and Iran look like? How tit
- China news: Solomon Islands strikes $95 million Huawei internet deal
- Jon Wysocki dead at 53: Staind drummer passes away
- When the touchy
Latest articles
Tourism boosts China's social, economic development
Time for some Royal R&R! King Charles and Queen Camilla arrive in Aberdeen for a restful
Snap! How toned Pippa Middleton matches her bikinis with her designer wardrobe
U.S. dispatches general in charge of the Middle East to F
Pregnancy app used by the NHS accused of 'imposing gender ideology'
Sandringham House is filled with the spirit of the King's gentle
LINKS
- Body language expert reveals the one thing keeping Queen Mary and King Frederik together
- New industry readies for launch as researchers hone offshore wind turbines that float
- Tom Holland praises his 'incredible' Romeo & Juliet co
- Bryan Reynolds' bat, Mitch Keller's arm help Pirates to 8
- Primaries in Maryland and West Virginia will shape the battle this fall for a Senate majority
- Georgian parliament holds third and final reading of divisive bill on foreign influence
- After Roe, an 'underground' network helps others get abortions
- Bangladesh has faith in Taskin but not in Saifuddin for T20 World Cup squad
- Khloe Kardashian takes True and Tatum to see dad Tristan Thompson play for the FIRST TIME
- Xi's visit to Hungary, Serbia provide fertile ground for Chinese expansion in Europe