Shanghai opens first autonomous driving roads
A 21.5-KILOMETER-LONG section of the G1503 Shanghai Ring Expressway and 19.5 kilometers of the G2 BeijingShanghai Highway in Jiading District, along with the 303 in-district roads totaling 500.6 kilometers, started to welcome self-driving cars earlier this month as the city announced its first batch of roads for autonomous driving.
On the open roads, driverless cars can automatically alter their speed and direction, based on artificial intelligence technologies and module analysis, and transport people along predetermined routes.
The move is part of the city’s plan to develop an intelligent-linked transport system.
With automobile its key industry, Jiading has been striving to build a demonstration area for unpiloted driving in its Anting Town for years. A driverless demonstration and experience zone at the Anting Shanghai International Auto City was set up earlier last month, indicating that the era of genuine driverless cars has arrived.
Along with launching the unpiloted roads, Shanghai also released its measures and guidance for further development of the intelligent-linked transportation system in the next three years through 2025.
According to the documents, the city is to create a smarter automobile industry with an intelligent operating system and an information exchange platform by using advanced telecommunication technologies.
Drivers or driving lovers in Shanghai are expected to enjoy more intelligent and convenient driving experience in the near future.
By 2025, Shanghai will have more than 800 kilometers of intelligent expressways and roads and 500-plus smart road junctions, as well as more than 100 smart public parking lots.