Promoting Industry Integration and Accelerating Industrial Layout – Observations on the Construction of National-Level Internet of Vehicles Pilot Zones
In April, at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, new technologies such as the Internet of Vehicles became a focal point; in May, Tianjin hosted the World Intelligent Conference, setting up an intelligent connected vehicle experience area; in June, the 2023 Jiangxi Province Internet of Vehicles Safety Conference was held… Since the beginning of this year, public interest in the Internet of Vehicles industry has been continuously increasing, and various regions are accelerating the layout of related industries.In April, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology clearly supported Hubei (Xiangyang), Zhejiang (Deqing), and Guangxi (Liuzhou) in creating national-level Internet of Vehicles pilot zones. So far, seven regions across the country have been approved to establish national-level Internet of Vehicles pilot zones. How is the construction progress in these three areas? What further efforts are needed to promote the application of the Internet of Vehicles industry? Reporters conducted on-site visits.Smarter Cars and Safer Roads – Initial Construction AchievementsDeqing County, located in northern Zhejiang, previously hosted the first United Nations World Geospatial Information Congress. The reporter boarded a pure electric bus at the Tashan Forest Park bus station in this county. After the driver slowly drove the vehicle away from the station, he activated the autonomous driving mode and then took his hands off the steering wheel. The vehicle automatically navigated according to road conditions, road markings, and traffic lights, and would stop to yield when encountering a crosswalk.“This vehicle is equipped with various autonomous driving perception devices such as LiDAR, millimeter-wave radar, and visual cameras, enabling precise perception of the surrounding environment and achieving L4-level autonomous driving capability,” said Qian Jiangfeng, project manager of China Mobile Communications Group Zhejiang Co., Ltd. Huzhou Branch. This route will provide services to the public during the Hangzhou Asian Games.
The image shows a bus driver in Deqing, Zhejiang, activating the autonomous driving mode. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wei Yijun.The reporter visited the Internet of Vehicles operation center in Xiangyang City, where an electronic screen displayed traffic at intersections in the central urban area, the operation of intelligent buses, and the progress of intelligent intersection renovations. Staff clicked the mouse, and the intersections that had completed intelligent renovations in the central urban area were connected into lines and aggregated into areas. Zhang Xiaohui, deputy director of the Xiangyang Economic and Information Bureau, introduced that by the end of 2023, Xiangyang is expected to complete the renovation of 448 intelligent intersections in the central urban area, achieving full coverage of intelligent connected devices.The Internet of Vehicles industry is a new industrial form resulting from the deep integration of the automotive, electronics, information communication, and road transportation industries. In recent years, Hubei, Zhejiang, and Guangxi have aimed at key regional functional renovations of the Internet of Vehicles and core system capability enhancements, cross-industry integration of “geographic information + Internet of Vehicles,” and large-scale deep applications of the Internet of Vehicles, promoting innovative development of the Internet of Vehicles industry with a coordinated approach, and have established a good foundation for industrial development, thus joining the ranks of creating national-level Internet of Vehicles pilot zones.Currently, seven regions have been approved to create national-level Internet of Vehicles pilot zones, covering the eastern, central, and western regions, with fruitful exploratory results: Wuxi has taken the lead in promoting local regulations for the development of the Internet of Vehicles; the Xiqing District of Tianjin has developed a “5+3” vehicle-road collaborative operation platform; and Changsha is planning to build an intelligent connected vehicle innovation application demonstration area.Leveraging Local Advantages to Accelerate Industrial DevelopmentThe Ministry of Industry and Information Technology requires relevant provinces to accelerate the improvement of collaborative work mechanisms according to the “Action Plan for the Development of the Internet of Vehicles (Intelligent Connected Vehicles) Industry,” and to promptly advance implementation to promote the application and industrial development of the Internet of Vehicles.Liuzhou City is home to four major automotive group production bases: SAIC, Dongfeng, FAW, and Sinotruk. Zheng Xuan, head of the Industry Section of the Liuzhou Big Data Development Bureau, stated that the local area is fully integrating the needs of local automotive enterprises to build low-cost, wide-area coverage vehicle-road collaborative roadside infrastructure. Currently, 125 intersections in the main urban area have been upgraded, and 241 sets of C-V2X roadside devices and 1566 sets of roadside perception computing devices have been established.“Deqing is actively planning the cross-industry integration development of ‘geographic information + Internet of Vehicles’ around its two characteristics of ‘geographic information’ and ‘full-area openness.'” Yu Xin, a staff member of the Geospatial Development Center of Huzhou Moganshan High-tech Zone, said, “The 172-acre intelligent connected vehicle testing ground in Deqing is the only public testing ground in Zhejiang Province that meets both single-vehicle intelligence and intelligent connected testing requirements. Since its establishment, it has issued 28 autonomous driving testing licenses to 20 enterprises.”Xiangyang is accelerating the development of intelligent connected vehicles, promoting the transformation and upgrading of the automotive industry towards electrification, intelligence, and connectivity.
The image shows the intelligent connected vehicle testing ground at the Xiangyang Da’an Automotive Testing Center. (Photo by Wang Hu)In Xiangyang High-tech Zone, the reporter saw that a 33.4-kilometer public testing road for intelligent connected vehicles has completed construction and equipment installation and is entering the equipment joint debugging phase; a science and technology innovation town for intelligent connected vehicles, integrating development testing, production support, demonstration applications, incubation innovation, and industry-university-research education bases, is under rapid construction, and a full industrial chain service platform for intelligent connected vehicles is being accelerated in Xiangyang.Promoting Large-Scale Application Requires Multi-Directional EffortsData from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology shows that as of 2022, the sales volume of new intelligent connected passenger vehicles equipped with auxiliary autonomous driving systems reached 7 million units, a year-on-year increase of 45.6%; the proportion of new energy vehicles equipped with auxiliary autonomous driving systems reached 48%. According to the “Internet of Vehicles White Paper” released by the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology, it is expected that by 2025, the market size of intelligent vehicles in China will approach one trillion yuan.Industry insiders interviewed believe that large-scale, city-level infrastructure construction for the Internet of Vehicles is a necessary prerequisite for commercial support and large-scale demonstration, and various regions should increase efforts in infrastructure construction.
The image shows a vehicle equipped with intelligent connected devices driving on a testing road in Liuzhou, Guangxi. (Photo by Li Xiaolin)Experts interviewed indicated that the Internet of Vehicles field still lacks industry standards and regulatory norms.Deqing County has previously issued “Seven Opinions on Supporting the Development of Autonomous Driving Testing Services” and participated in the formulation of provincial standards for geographic data in the field of autonomous driving, titled “Intelligent Connected Vehicles Road Basic Geographic Data Specifications.” Yu Xin suggested that, taking high-precision maps as an example, it is necessary to further clarify the data delivery interface and delivery format among surveying units, map vendors, and vehicle manufacturers to promote the in-depth application of high-precision maps for intelligent connected vehicles.The person in charge of the Internet of Vehicles project at Dongke Smart City Investment and Development Co., Ltd. in Liuzhou believes that the industry has not yet formed a mature commercial model for Internet of Vehicles applications. Liuzhou is actively exploring in this field, for example, gradually empowering vehicles with Internet of Vehicles capabilities in local car-sharing services, and suggests that various regions explore more sustainable business models in the future.Miao Changxing, a first-level inspector of the Equipment Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, stated that in the next step, the Ministry will strengthen top-level strategic planning, adhere to the integrated development route of vehicle-road-cloud, enhance overall coordination, strengthen innovation-driven efforts, optimize policy supply, and work together to promote the high-quality development of the intelligent connected vehicle industry.
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Source: Bimonthly Talk
Chief Editor: Zhu Zai
Editor: Cheng Wenzhang
Review: Yin Mengna
Responsible Editor: Zheng Haoran
Editor: Li Shengkai
