In the classic sci-fi movie Back to the Future 2, released in 1989, 26 years later, in 2015, people imagined a traffic scene - taxis rushing through the air, maglev skateboards rushing to where they want to go. We've been through 2015 and know that back then, until now, mobility wasn't that cool, but we're always moving forward.
More and more intelligent networked vehicles are driving automatically on the streets, more and more "smart" transportation systems are being laid out in cities, and even the entire transportation system has existed in the cloud to form a "digital twin"... More and more scenes like science fiction movies appear in daily life. From the "first kilometer" to the "last kilometer", information technology and the transportation industry are deeply integrated, new products and new models continue to emerge, these advanced transportation modes that can only be imagined by predecessors have "updated" the urban street scene, optimized the travel experience, and built a new car city integration industry ecology.
Experience autonomous vehicles from a first-person perspective. Source: Auto Grand View
Smart car
Better travel experience
Since November 2021, China's first commercial pilot of autonomous driving mobility services has been settled in the Beijing High-level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone in Yizhuang, where Robotaxi, a self-driving taxi based on autonomous driving technology, has been available on the local road. The demonstration area is promoting fully unmanned demonstration operation in phases, and according to the change of driver's position, the unmanned promotion is divided into three test stages: "there is a person in the co-driver", "there is someone in the rear seat" and "unmanned outside the vehicle is long-range". At the same time, according to the exploration of technical proficiency testing, service capability verification and commercialization models, it corresponds to the three-level open path of "road test", "demonstration application" and "commercial pilot".
Aerial view of Beijing's high-level autonomous driving demonstration area. Source: Beijing Yizhuang
In February 2023, the Beijing High-level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone Office said that it is expected to achieve a commercial pilot of "unmanned vehicles" in the first half of this year. Up to now, there are 19 test enterprises in the demonstration area, the number of number plate vehicles issued has reached 615, the cumulative autonomous driving mileage has exceeded 15.73 million kilometers, and the unmanned and commercialized autonomous passenger vehicles have accelerated, serving more than 1.34 million people.
An autonomous fleet. Source: Shanghai Securities News
In Florence, Italy, the active use of intelligent technology has improved the efficiency of traffic operation. Sensors and radar were installed on the local pilot smart trams to determine vehicle speed, direction and distance from surrounding objects, and data collection equipment was installed at the station. According to the smart tram project coordinator, the project aims to create "smart zones" for the city and reduce the use of private cars to promote sustainable development.
Modern tram line T1 in Florence, Italy. Source: Bilibili
At present, Florence is building a smart city control room, which will become a central system for processing real-time information of urban traffic, which can control passenger flow and respond to emergencies more efficiently. The "Smart Florence" service center, the operator of the control room, will also provide local citizens with online government affairs, information consultation and other services.
Similarly, Singapore's intelligent transportation system can also timely inform vehicle drivers of road congestion, road damage, traffic accidents and other road abnormal information, and can also analyze weather forecasts and taxi GPS positioning data to send early warnings to vehicles, making the driving process more intelligent.
By enhancing the information interaction and seamless connection between people and vehicles, cars and vehicles, and vehicles and roads, "vehicle-road cloud integration" can realize real-time control, accurate management and scientific decision-making of urban travel. Driven by autonomous driving technology, cities will be safer, more efficient, and more energy-efficient, and citizens' daily lives will be more colorful.
The road of wisdom
Traffic management is more orderly
In terms of strengthening urban transportation construction and management, digitalization and development of smart transportation is one of the effective ways to improve urban transportation systems, and many countries and cities around the world have explored beneficial practices.
At the beginning of 2018, the Malaysian Digital Economy Development Agency and the City Hall of Kuala Lumpur jointly announced the introduction of ET City Brain, developed by Chinese enterprises. ET City Brain uses artificial intelligence to analyze data from cameras at some road intersections in Kuala Lumpur to dynamically adjust traffic lights, detect traffic accidents, and facilitate emergency vehicles to pass first. During the trial operation, ET City Brain reduced the travel time of Malaysians by 12%.
The UK's smart motorways are equipped with facilities such as solar-powered traffic lights, road monitoring sensors, on-call wreckers and electronic information signs, increasing the capacity of the busiest motorways by 1/3.
UK Smart Highway. Source: Baidu
Sensors under the road surface continuously monitor the stress and stress on the road and transmit the data measured a few minutes ago to the computer control center, so that defects can be repaired as soon as possible. When it is impossible to see the road ahead, the electronic information board can timely inform the road ahead, and in the event of traffic congestion, it can also indicate the nearest train station, so that passengers can transfer to the train to reach their destination as soon as possible.
On the 4 km stretch of the E4 Euroroad between the northern Swedish cities of Pite and Lule, 400 information distribution devices use wireless networks to provide information to drivers, and their display lights change color to warn of icy roads, accident congestion and other dangerous situations.
A 4 km section of the European E4 highway in Sweden. Source: Good looking video
China's first "speed-unlimited expressway," the Hangshaoyong Expressway, will open to traffic by the end of 2023. The minimum speed limit of this highway can exceed 120km/h, the initial maximum speed limit is 150km/h, and then with the completion of the technical improvement test, the speed limit will be opened. There is no toll booth in the middle of the entire expressway, and the free-flow charging method is adopted, and the vehicle traffic situation is recorded through cameras and sensors set up on the highway, and the fee is deducted; The big data intelligent cloud control platform will control vehicles through intelligent systems, increasing vehicle speed by 20%-30%; We will build a human, vehicle, and road coordination system, fully support autonomous driving in the long term, and combine wireless rechargeable battery technology to realize charging while driving. In addition, the highway is also equipped with an IoT perception and early warning system, allowing the owner to understand the road conditions ahead at the first time and respond in time to avoid a car accident.
China's first "unrestricted expressway" Hangzhou-Shaoyong Expressway function schematic. Source: Sohu.com
At present, the intelligent transportation solution supported by AI large model technology can improve the efficiency of traffic operation. Li Yanhong, founder, chairman and CEO of Baidu, once mentioned that in Beijing Yizhuang, because of the deployment of AI global information control solution, more than 300 intelligent intersections can automatically adjust traffic lights according to traffic flow when traffic flow is also significantly increased, and Yizhuang has also become the only "oasis" in Beijing without traffic jams during the May Day holiday.
Car overload and speeding are also common problems in many cities. In Yanbu City, Saudi Arabia, high-sensitivity sensors and high-definition license plate recognition cameras are installed at important intersections and on both sides of the road, which can accurately record the speed, load and other information of passing vehicles, and upload it to the fully automatic management system to punish illegal vehicles, which effectively reduces the accident rate.
Today, the cost of road maintenance in Yanbu has been reduced by 20%, the comprehensive cost of public lighting systems has been reduced by more than 30%, the utilization rate of public parking space has increased by 30%, and more and more outstanding talents have begun to choose to work and live in Yanbu.
"Building a smart city not only improves the level of public services in Yanbu, but also attracts more foreign investment." The relevant person in charge of Yanbu said that the construction of smart city will help Yanbu play a greater role in improving people's livelihood, optimizing urban operation and management, enhancing urban attractiveness, and creating a better urban life.
Executive Producer: Zhang Ning Planning: Li Zhengwei Written by: Kong Fanxin Editor: Mu Ziye, Li Fei Guangming Network Production
Reference |People's Daily, China Daily, Beijing Daily, Xiaoxiang Morning News, Economic Information News, Shanghai Securities News, Beijing Yizhuang, Tiger Smell, CNMO
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Source: World Internet Conference