World’s first autonomous driving commercial license issued by Wuhan

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Wuhan, capital of China's Hubei Province, has become the world's first city that issued commercial licenses allowing companies to conduct trial operation of passenger-carrying self-driving cars, according to a local media outlet.

(Photo source: Apollo)

This is a milestone for the industry to monetize the technology in China. The companies, including Baidu, Haylion Technologies and DeepBlue Technology, were granted the licenses from the Wuhan transport authority on September 22 and are allowed to carry out trials in designated roads spanning 28 kilometers in total, according to the report.

The approved roads are located in a demonstration zone set up by the city for ICV (intelligent-connected vehicle) testing and unveiled at the same time.

Equipped with 5G-based V2X (vehicle-to-everything) system, the pilot zone will open up multiple scenarios designed for a variety of vehicle types, such as buses, sanitation vehicles, taxis and logistics trucks. Now, it has so far attracted more than 40 domestic and foreign automotive companies to operate business there.

An autonomous vehicle can achieve a latency reduced to milliseconds with a positioning accuracy at centimeter level, thanks to multifunctional monitor poles that are powered by 5G wireless technology and China's self-developed BeiDou Navigation Satellite System, the report said.

An official from the Wuhan transport authority said the commercial licenses will allow companies to strengthen testing of new functions like remote driving and vehicle-road synergy under the 5G environment, and conduct trials with passenger carried on seats, so as to promote applications of intelligent driving technologies in real-life scenarios.

China seems to take the fast lane to the autonomous driving commercialization. Earlier this month, Chinese automaker SAIC Motor, Germany's BMW and ride-hailing giant DiDi Chuxing received a primary batch of operational licenses to test ICVs in Jiading district of Shanghai, which also allow them to carry cargo or volunteer passengers.