Pilot programs put more driverless vehicles on the road

Pilot programs promoting the use of artificial intelligence in the transport sector have made significant progress, Ministry of Transport officials said on Thursday, with the commercial operation of driverless vehicles being tested in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and more smart roads being planned and built.

The ministry set out 14 pilot tasks for unmanned driving last year, focusing on applications such as road freight, urban travel services, logistics distribution and port operations, spokesman Sun Wenqian told a news conference in Beijing.

"Driverless vehicles have been put into operation in Beijing's Yizhuang area, and also in Wuhan, Hubei province, along the route between the city and its airport," he said, adding that autonomous driving was one of the major areas where artificial intelligence was being applied.

"We are aiming at solving real needs and forming useful models based on real business and authentic scenarios."

More than 1,000 driverless vehicles had been put into operation across the country in the past 12 months, Sun said.

In July, authorities in Beijing decided to allow eligible companies to operate driverless taxis without safety supervisors on board and charge passengers for the rides.

Self-driving taxis were rolled out on a trial basis in the capital in March following a series of road tests that were conducted with safety supervisors on board.

Autonomous driving is also being applied to freight transport, with Sun saying about 200 driverless trucks had been put into use at major ports, including those in Tianjin and Shanghai.

The pilot programs have also boosted the development of intelligent infrastructure, such as integrating artificial intelligence technology in the building of new roads and establishing data platforms.

China's first smart freeway using holographic perception suitable for autonomous driving was put into use recently in Suzhou, Jiangsu province.

The ministry is now soliciting ideas for another batch of pilot applications for autonomous driving.

"We hope to summarize experience and shortcomings, further enrich application scenarios, expand the scale of the pilot programs, create normal transportation services and a whole-process automation operation mode, and promote the deep integration of autonomous driving technology and transportation," Sun said.

To support driverless vehicles, the construction of smart roads and facilities has been encouraged.

"Research and practice in China and abroad have shown that improving highway infrastructure, making it more suitable for autonomous vehicles, and providing auxiliary information for unmanned driving vehicles can accelerate the practical application of autonomous driving technology," said Zhong Wenhua, deputy head of the ministry's highway bureau.

The ministry recently released a guideline to encourage the application of smart technology in highway construction to support unmanned driving, he said.

"It aims to improve the intelligence level of highway infrastructure to help autonomous vehicles obtain more accurate information about traffic, the highway environment and their own positioning so they can achieve complete decision-making related to driving behavior," Zhong said.