Author: Sun Yan Source: IT Times
On the city roads of Shanghai Songjiang Free Trade Zone before, I have seen several Xiantu intelligent self-driving sweepers are cleaning, and when you get closer, these vehicles do not need manual operation, they can independently plan the cleaning route, and when they sense that pedestrians or vehicles are approaching, it will also automatically avoid. A rough calculation, 1 self-driving sweeper, cleaning mileage of more than 30 kilometers per day, the workload is equivalent to more than 10 cleaning workers, unmanned technology allows people to liberate from repetitive, low-value work, and use technology to release new quality productivity.
This time, the reporter of "IT Times" came to the Pinghu Super Factory of Xiantu Intelligence, which is near Jinshan, Shanghai, and saw the unmanned full-stack product family of Xiantu Intelligent Autowise.ai for the first time. On March 20, Xiantu Intelligent held its first product open day, which was also the first concentrated appearance of their full-stack self-developed driverless product family, including Autowise V3, Roboard-X, Platforma-X and other driverless product matrices.
"Unmanned driving technology makes it possible to unmanned sanitation operations, and the labor force liberated by this can focus on more macro vehicle management and other work, such as 1 person remotely managing multiple vehicles, which completely changes the traditional operation mode of 1 person and 1 vehicle, and realizes the innovative configuration of production factors. Tang Yan, partner and vice president of product and operation of Xiantu Intelligence, also said that Xiantu Intelligence will unlock the "new quality productivity" of urban development with the large-scale application of unmanned driving technology, so that AI can undertake more intensive and even dangerous labor tasks, and realize the improvement of total factor production efficiency of sanitation operations with scientific and technological strength, and promote the sustainable development of digital and intelligent cities.
The commercialization of autonomous driving has been implemented from passenger cars, commercial vehicles to sanitation tracks
As early as 2017, at the beginning of the establishment of Xiantu Intelligence, founder and CEO Huang Chao led the team to set up China's first batch of Robotaxi self-driving taxi fleets in Shanghai.
In 2018, the team further developed the commercial vehicle scenario and completed the research and development of Robotruck truck-level driverless technology.
In 2019, Xiantu Intelligent obtained the world's first road test license for autonomous driving sweepers, and based on the balance of technology, scenario and commercialization, Xiantu Intelligent chose the sanitation track as the direction of commercialization. In 2019, it won the project of 30 self-driving sweepers in the high-speed rail new city of Xiangcheng District, Suzhou, realizing the world's first commercial operation of public roads.
As one of the first driverless companies to enter the sanitation track, Xiantu believes that sanitation is one of the best scenarios for unmanned commercialization. Tang Yan also mentioned three reasons at the open day: first, unmanned sanitation vehicles mainly operate in low-speed scene environments, and the safety and controllability are higher than those in other application scenarios; secondly, when unmanned sweepers operate on urban public roads, they not only need to identify vehicles, pedestrians, traffic lights and other conventional elements, but also prepare to identify garbage, leaves, stones, and other conventional elements on the road. In addition, the traditional sanitation industry is facing multiple challenges such as serious aging, rising labor costs, difficult recruitment and high work hazards, and has an urgent and extensive demand for the application of automated and unmanned sanitation equipment.
At present, Xiantu Intelligent focuses on the "1" track of environmental sanitation, radiates "X" scenarios such as passenger cars and commercial vehicles, and realizes the positive cycle of technology implementation and revenue.
The unmanned sanitation vehicle with variable equipment reduces the cost by 70% by "one vehicle for multiple purposes".
On the day of the open day, the three most eye-catching Roboard-X, with "X" tops on the "1" chassis, seemed to say: "Look at my seventy-two changes!"
Although the front and chassis are similar, they are transformed into short-distance shuttles that can carry people, sweepers that can sweep roads, and logistics vehicles that can transport goods. This is the shared autonomous driving chassis Roboard-X launched by Xiantu Intelligent in 2023, which can realize the flexible transformation of multi-scene bodywork.
Located in the C position is the Platforma-X, which was just launched in March this year, and is known as the industry's first "one vehicle for multiple purposes" unmanned sanitation vehicle. Focusing on the sanitation scene, with "1 chassis + 3 tops", the flexible transformation of three sanitation vehicles of cleaning, washing, and garbage removal is realized like building blocks. In other words, the operator does not need to purchase different sanitation models separately, saving 50% of the purchase cost.
Not only that, the Platforma-X adopts a cabless design, which can autonomously complete tasks such as starting self-check, timing operation, dumping garbage, automatic charging, and automatic water refilling, so that the labor cost of the driver and charging and refilling water is reduced to 0. Taken together, Platforma-X's "multi-purpose vehicle" can reduce the cost of sanitation operations by nearly 70%, realizing the true unmanned whole process.
In 2022, Xiantu Intelligent released the self-developed driverless sweeper Autowise V3 to realize the front-loading mass production of the autonomous sweeper. At present, Autowise V3 has become the most widely used driverless sweeper on the market.
Domestic "runs" faster than overseas 30 cities around the world have landed
In Wuxi, hundreds of Autowise V3s and other driverless vehicles are carrying out nearly 9 million square meters of road cleaning operations, and in the vicinity of the high-speed rail new city in Xiangcheng District, Suzhou, Xiantu's driverless sanitation vehicles are automatically cleaning on the main roads and sidewalks, covering an area of about 18.185 kilometers with a total area of 550,000 square meters.
At present, Xiantu Intelligent has deployed nearly 300 driverless sanitation vehicles in more than 30 cities around the world. In China, Xiantu Intelligent has started normal operation in Shanghai, Suzhou, Wuxi, Shenzhen, Hefei, Chengdu and other cities, and its actual operation mileage and number of commercial scenarios rank first in the industry. Overseas, it is the only domestic driverless enterprise in China that has completed the commercialization of sanitation scenarios.
"In recent years, the development of unmanned sanitation vehicles in China has been faster than that in foreign countries, because many places are promoting the construction of smart cities, such as the bidding documents for sanitation projects in many cities in Shenzhen, which will clearly indicate how many driverless sanitation vehicles need to be deployed. Tang Yan also told the "IT Times" reporter that the actual demand of each overseas country will be different, the labor cost of the European sanitation market remains high, and the climate and environment in the Middle East are harsh.
Xiantu intelligent driverless sanitation vehicles have landed in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and other regions in the Middle East, Europe and the United States. In the Middle East market, Autowise V3 landed in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, in Jumeirah Beach, which is adjacent to famous landmarks such as the Burj Al Arab, instead of manual cleaning operations in the hot and hot climate, where the outdoor temperature can be as high as 50 degrees Celsius;
At present, the field of unmanned sanitation is ushering in an important turning point in the industry. According to the deduction and prediction of Yiouwang based on the relevant data of the National Bureau of Statistics and the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the market size of autonomous driving sanitation operation will reach 270 billion yuan by 2025, and the penetration rate of autonomous driving sanitation vehicles in China will also climb to 5%, with huge market potential.
Returning overseas, Saudi Arabia is building Neom City, a city of the future, and in its Vision 2030 plan, it is clearly stated that by 2030, 25% of municipal vehicles will be unmanned.
We can imagine that whether it is a taxi, a minibus, a logistics vehicle, or a sanitation vehicle, it will become an unmanned vehicle.
A Chinese driverless company from Shanghai is heading to "X" cities around the world. Xiantu Intelligence is a microcosm of China's unmanned driving industry, which has run through the "1+X" business model, so that more unmanned driving enterprises deeply engaged in subdivided fields can see the prospect of commercialization.