Autonomous driving innovation fuels AI reach worldwide

BEIJING, June 24 (Xinhua) -- On the outskirts of Beijing, a self-driving bus navigated effortlessly through traffic, demonstrating China's rapidly advancing autonomous driving technology.

Developed by UISEE, a Beijing-based unicorn, this solution is now expanding beyond Chinese capital's streets and beginning to make its mark on the global robotaxi industry.

These "AI drivers" have spread to countries like Singapore, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Qatar, penetrating industries including energy, heavy industry, pharmaceuticals and chemicals, said Wu Gansha, CEO of UISEE.

The unmanned buses operate at over 20 airports worldwide, forming a fleet of more than 1,000 autonomous vehicles that have collectively covered 5.8 million kilometers.

These busy shuttles reflect the rising influence of Chinese companies like UISEE in the autonomous driving sector, as they secure increasing numbers of international contracts thanks to their reliable and innovative technology.

In addition to buses, UISEE's diverse fleet includes unmanned retail vehicles, patrol cars, cleaning vehicles, towing tractors and heavy-duty trucks, varying in size and function.

Equipped with the latest solid-state LiDAR, the autonomous cars achieve 360-degree, blind-spot-free vision, according to Wu. While Tesla relies mainly on vision-based technology, Chinese tech firms are rolling out a multi-sensor data-driven approach globally.

GOING GLOBAL

UISEE is not alone in this global push. Last month, Pony.ai, a Guangzhou-based robotaxi service provider, announced a strategic partnership with Dubai's transport authority.

Under the partnership, Pony.ai's robotaxi fleet is scheduled to commence test operations in 2025, with plans to start fully autonomous commercial services in 2026 in Dubai.

"This partnership is integral to our goal of transforming 25 percent of all journeys in the city into autonomous trips by 2030, reinforcing Dubai's position as a global leader in autonomous mobility and innovation," said Ahmed Bahrozyan, CEO of Public Transport Agency at Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA).

To date, Pony.ai, a partner of ride-hailing platform Uber, has obtained Robotaxi licenses in countries such as the United States, the Republic of Korea and Luxembourg.

Last July, during the signing ceremony of the memorandum of understanding between Pony.ai and Luxembourg authorities, the country's Minister of the Economy, Lex Delles, described the agreement as "a significant opportunity to advance Luxembourg's technical capabilities in the smart mobility sector."

"We are extending our proven-in-China integrated capabilities of autonomous driving, encompassing R&D, mass production, and commercial operations, globally," said Pony.ai's CFO Wang Junhao.

The UAE is emerging as one of the showcasing grounds for China's self-driving technology.

In April this year, WeRide announced its collaboration with Uber and the RTA to launch robotaxi services in Dubai. It came after the Guangzhou-based tech firm secured the first autonomous driving license for the UAE in July 2023. In December last year, WeRide partnered with Uber to officially introduce robotaxi services in Abu Dhabi.

Also, Baidu's Apollo Go has inked a deal with the RTA this March to launch autonomous driving tests and services in Dubai, marking its entry into the Middle East. It plans to deploy 100 fully autonomous vehicles in Dubai by the end of 2025 and scale the fleet to at least 1,000 by 2028.

The global Robotaxi market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 64.1 percent from 2025 to 2032, according to a market forecast released by Coherent MI early this year.

TECHNOLOGICAL STRENGTHS

The global expansion of Chinese autonomous driving companies is partly driven by the country's "data dividend" and strong government support for developing a self-driving ecosystem.

With the country's advantage of a vast population, extensive road networks, diverse and complex driving conditions, and rapidly advancing AI technology, robotaxi startups in China have quickly grown into leading companies in the world.

Baidu and WeRide were named among the top 10 vendors in the Guidehouse Insights Leaderboard Report on automated driving systems (ADS), published last December, alongside NVIDIA and Waymo.

They are developing at least Level-4 ADS that can operate without human intervention or supervision, according to research.

Plus, Chinese authorities have designated at least 20 cities and city clusters as pilot zones for the application of "vehicle-road-cloud" integration for intelligent connected vehicles.

This extensive road test data has boosted international recognition of China's robotaxi services.

"One day, autonomous driving will liberate human hands, and we will endeavor to see 'AI drivers' cruising in every corner of the world," said UISEE's CEO Wu when he talked about his ambitious plan. ■