(Yicai
Global) June 8 -- Utopilot, the self-driving technology arm of China’s SAIC
Motor, has started a pilot transportation project in Anhui province using level
four autonomous heavy-duty trucks built together with Luan Steel Holding.
The
project, which kicked off earlier this week, demonstrates the use of the
self-driving trucks on the steelmaker’s own private roads in Luan in Anhui.
SAIC will
provide more than 30 new energy trucks equipped with Utopilot's self-developed
smart driving system, Yicai Global learned, providing Luan Steel with L4
autonomous transport for over 6 million tons of materials.
With the
help of Utopilot's self-driving algorithm, the trucks can work around the clock
without a break in theory, and are capable of autonomous planning, driving, and
collision avoidance.
They can
be put to work for at least 20 hours a day at a conservative estimate, which is
25 percent longer than regular trucks, said Zhang Xianhong, chief architect and
deputy general manager of Utopilot’s smart driving center, adding that they
also consume 10 percent less energy.
Utopilot
has been working with Shanghai's Yangshan Port on a similar pilot project. The
trucks there have covered more than 4.7 million kilometers, transporting over
169,000 twenty-foot equivalent units between the world’s busiest port and the
surrounding area.
Commercializing
the use of robotrucks by industrial firms is thought to be an easier
proposition than getting people to use robotaxis, and that is a major reason
why self-driving tech developers are competing in the field of heavy-duty
trucks.