Visitors sit in a van to experience Internet of Vehicle technology during the expo in Wuxi, East China's Jiangsu province, on Sept 7, 2019. [Photo/IC]
The national intelligent transport comprehensive test base, located at East Shanshui Road, Wuxi's Binhu district, has basically taken shape.
The test base, which covers an area of 208 mu (14 hectares), will provide auto manufacturers with areas for testing safety and emergency performance of self-driving cars. Those that pass all the tests will be put into mass production, according to Yuan Lei, deputy director of the institute of transport science of public security at the base.
Yuan said the base is located in area that provides good conditions for the setting of various road situations. Nearby rural roads, mountain roads, tunnels and more also create a perfect environment for peripheral vehicle tests.
Before the base was put into operation, Wuxi had provided 35 testing services in 14 categories for self-driving cars, with an informatization transformation on the base's 6.5-kilometer-long open road and 4.1-km-long closed expressway.
By the end of February 2020, over 10 auto manufacturers had tested their self-driving cars in Wuxi, including SAIC, Audi and Jinlong. By now, more than 30 auto brands have signed to carry out tests at the base.
Wuxi started to work on the internet of vehicles (IoV) sector in 2016 and established a comprehensive testing base for unmanned vehicles and IoV. Over the past two years, the city has made major breakthroughs in the technical framework for IoV, which have been adopted by many auto companies.
A total of 43 IoV enterprises have settled in the Shanshui City area of Wuxi's Binhu district, and 20 more are expected to be introduced this year.
Yao Chen, director of merchants and management department of Shanshui City, said that due to limited conditions, Wuxi's IoV companies will focus on developing the core technologies of IoV, including system integration and platform operation, and related service industries focusing on car navigation and communications.
Wuxi is known as a pilot area for developing IoV in eastern China's Jiangsu province. In May 2019, Wuxi was approved by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology to be the nation's first pilot area for developing IoV.
