The reporter learned on April 25 that the first unmanned minibus in Xinjiang was launched in Zhihui Park, Changji National High-tech Industrial Development Zone, Xinjiang. This is the first minibus in Xinjiang that adopts L4 level unmanned driving technology, which will be used in short-distance shuttle, logistics, sanitation, distribution and other scenarios.

  The reporter saw at the scene that the red and blue minibus was 4.3 meters long and could carry 7 passengers and 1 safety officer. Unlike traditional minibus, it does not have parts such as steering wheel, brakes, throttle, rearview mirrors, etc. Panoramic glass, blue ring seats, lidar and flickering electronic route screen create a capsule-like tech feel.

  The reporter sat on the minibus and tied his seat belt. With a gentle beep, the minibus started smoothly. During driving, the minibus can automatically avoid docking vehicles, make flexibly turns, and accurately identify traffic lights.

  "This is a short-distance shuttle service application scenario for unmanned minibuses created by us and leading domestic companies. The lidar and cameras all over the vehicle are the "eyes" of the minibus. They can not only observe the surrounding traffic 360 degrees, but also identify the road conditions ahead at least 50 meters in advance and "see clearly" the red light signals at the next intersection." Ma Jian, chairman of Xinjiang Keyun Hydrogen Energy Co., Ltd., introduced that in the short-distance shuttle service application scenarios of unmanned minibuses, minibus can not only rely on lidar and camera to sense the road surface conditions, but can also communicate with roadside and cloud infrastructure through 5G networks to further improve the overall safety of the vehicle.

  Ma Jian introduced that in the future, it will build an unmanned minibus assembly line in Changji National High-tech Industrial Development Zone, and lay out the upstream and downstream industrial chain of intelligent connected vehicles to create more unmanned minibus application scenarios. (Reporter Liang Le)

[Editor in charge: Zhou Jingjie]