Hey tech enthusiasts! Beijing is shifting gears into the future by planning a whopping 3,000-square-kilometer autonomous driving demonstration zone between its fourth and sixth ring roads. That's nearly a fifth of the city's total land area! 😲
This innovative move was announced at the World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference that wrapped up in Beijing last Saturday. The city has already decked out its streets with intelligent roadside facilities within its high-level autonomous driving zone, which kicked off with 600 square kilometers back in 2020. Talk about an upgrade! 🚀
Big names like Baidu, Pony.ai, WeRide, Neolix, and JD.com are hopping on board, bringing futuristic applications like smart passenger vehicles, unmanned delivery, autonomous patrols, and more. Imagine cruising around in a driverless car or having your packages delivered by robots! 🤖
So far, 33 companies have snagged road testing licenses for nearly 900 vehicles, clocking over 32 million kilometers in autonomous driving tests. That's over a quarter of the entire country's total mileage in this field. Go Beijing! 🎉
But that's not all! Automated shuttles are now zipping around Beijing Daxing International Airport, Beijing South Station, and Yizhuang Station. Plus, the Beijing-Tianjin-Tanggu Expressway is fully prepped for autonomous logistics scenarios. The future is literally on the move! 🛣️
And guess what? Beijing is also gearing up to lay down some official regulations on autonomous vehicles. Looks like the city is not just dreaming about the future—it's building it! 🌟
Reference(s):
Beijing planning a 3,000-sq-km autonomous driving demonstration zone
cgtn.com
