Pony.ai given green light to have road tests of autonomous trucks in Guangzhou

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On Dec. 16, Pony.ai received a permit from Guangzhou authority that allows the startup to test its autonomous trucks on public roads, the company announced via its WeChat account.

Photo credit: Pony.ai

Pony.ai said its autonomous trucks sailed through many testing items for such complex scenarios as traffic light recognition, obstacle avoidance, car-following, lane merging, overtaking, emergency parking, and travelling across crossroads and roundabouts.

By testing vehicles on roads, the company will expedite the R&D and the validation of autonomous truck technologies, promoting the trials and application of its self-driving technologies in logistics area. The startup revealed the R&D is being carried out in China and the U.S. at the same time.

Pony.ai unveiled in April 2019 its progress made in the R&D of autonomous trucks. At the 2019 China International Import Expo (CIIE), the startup offered the first glimpse of the autonomous driving software & hardware system designed for heavy-duty trucks, which is purportedly equipped with Level 4 self-driving features.

The company said it is working on developing “virtual drivers” available for all types of vehicles models and driving scenarios since its foundation in late 2016. The products are mainly engineered for mobility service and transport domains.

As for the passenger vehicles, Pony.ai has launched autonomous mobility pilots in multiple cities across the U.S. and China, serving hundreds of riders per day. As of Oct. 2020, the startup's fleet had run for over 3.5 million kilometers in road tests with its technologies and system being continuously improved and updated.