What’s new: China has published a list of 20 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, that will join a “vehicle-road-cloud integration” pilot program to support the rollout of autonomous driving.
The country aims to build a unified and shared standard framework for vehicle-road-cloud integration by 2026, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in a Wednesday statement announcing the list, which also includes Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Nanjing.
The pilot program includes establishing a system of roadside infrastructure and a low-latency cloud-based control platform that will together lay the groundwork for the large-scale operation of “smart connected vehicles” across the country, the MIIT said.
The background: Vehicle-road-cloud integration refers to a cloud technology-powered system that connects self-driving cars with surrounding devices as they move, enabling them to interact with infrastructure such as cameras and traffic lights and to gather real-time data on road conditions. Such a system is known in the industry as “vehicle-to-everything” technology.
On Sunday, Beijing issued draft rules that aim to pave the way for the construction of the roadside infrastructure needed to help make autonomous driving a commercial reality. The move aligns with the central government’s plan to digitize infrastructure along roads and waterways.
Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com)
