Wuhan becomes China's version of Phoenix, autonomous driving takes off at the beginning of the year

Wuhan is an ancient yet young city. The historical picture slowly unfolds at the confluence of the Yangtze River and the Han River. The Yellow Crane Tower, Guqin Terrace and other places have become witnesses of history, while the unmanned vehicles shuttling through them have activated Wuhan with technology, giving this century-old city more modern vitality.

On February 27, the fully unmanned autonomous driving vehicle of LuoBoKuaiPao drove across the Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge and the Baishazhou Bridge in Wuhan, making Wuhan the first city in China to realize the operation of intelligent connected vehicles across the Yangtze River. Baidu also became the first company in China to provide fully unmanned cross-river travel services. In China, Wuhan is already the city with the largest range of unmanned vehicles, which basically covers the entire city and targets the central urban area. This makes people wonder why Wuhan has become unique.

Why did Wuhan become the "Phoenix City"?

Phoenix is ​​the capital and largest city of Arizona, USA. In 2017, self-driving company Waymo chose to conduct self-driving road tests here. Phoenix has thus become a model city for self-driving test operations. Other self-driving companies have also started testing here, making the city the most cutting-edge test area and pioneer of self-driving technology in the United States.

In China, in order to overtake the global automobile industry, intelligence has become an important symbol of the development of autonomous driving. Batches of Chinese versions of "Phoenix Cities" have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain. Wuhan, as an early test field, has become a model city for the popularization of autonomous driving technology.

There are many cities that want to be "Phoenix City", so why is Wuhan the first to realize the widespread popularization of driverless cars? This is closely related to the spirit of "daring to be the first" engraved in Wuhan's genes, coupled with its profound scientific, educational and industrial advantages, Wuhan has become a leader.

2015 was called the "first year of autonomous driving". In 2016, Wuhan took the lead in launching the construction application of the national intelligent connected vehicle and smart transportation demonstration zone, benchmarking Shanghai and other advanced cities. In 2023, Wuhan became the sixth national intelligent connected vehicle test demonstration zone in China and the first in central China. It is also the first demonstration zone in China to issue commercial licenses for autonomous driving. In September 2023, Wuhan issued the 1,000th license of the National Intelligent Connected Vehicle (Wuhan) Test Demonstration Zone.

The early layout has allowed Wuhan to accumulate strength. Judging from the number of autonomous driving travel service vehicles in normal operation, the number of orders, and the core data such as the mileage and area of ​​open roads, Wuhan has become the world's largest autonomous driving operation service area. The reason why Wuhan has such confidence is due to its industrial cluster advantages.

It is reported that "Optical Valley" and "Auto Valley" are Wuhan's distinctive national high-tech zones and development zones, and are fertile ground for cultivating unicorn companies. The two places have strong scientific research capabilities and a complete industrial layout in the fields of optoelectronics and information, life and health, new energy and intelligent connected vehicles. A number of unicorn companies have emerged, distributed in new energy and smart cars, integrated circuits and other technology tracks.

At the end of 2022, the "Wuxiang Shisui" automobile industry cluster, led by Auto Valley, was rated as a national "Advanced Manufacturing Cluster" by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, on par with the Shanghai New Energy Vehicle Cluster and Changchun Automobile Cluster, and is expected to represent China in global competition and cooperation.

In the past two years, Wuhan City has accelerated the opening of autonomous driving test roads and issued more than 1,800 autonomous driving road test and operation licenses, attracting 491 smart connected vehicles from 19 companies such as Dongfeng Yuexiang and Baidu Luobo Kuaipao for regular testing and operation.

Wuhan's own cluster advantages and pioneering spirit have given it more fertile soil, but the healthy growth of seeds also requires the nourishment of water. Chain leader companies represented by Baidu are leading Wuhan to continuously move towards the trillion-dollar "optical chip, screen, terminal and network", automobile manufacturing and service industry upgrades.

Carrot Run resonates with industrial upgrading

The keyword for the landing of Baidu Apollo in Wuhan is "fast". In May 2022, Luobo Kuaipao landed in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, and three months later it launched the country's first fully unmanned autonomous driving commercial operation.

By the end of 2022, with the support of Luobo Kuaipao, Wuhan also became a leader in driverless driving, and was the first to realize cross-regional travel and fully driverless night operations, gradually becoming the world's largest driverless operation service area.

In Luobo Kuaipao's business in Wuhan, it has achieved interconnected operations in Jingkai District, Hanyang, Dongxihu District, and Qiaokou District, with breakthroughs in regions, number of orders, and duration. At this stage, it can meet the citizens' cross-district travel needs to a certain extent.

In 2023, Wuhan City significantly expanded the scope of open test roads for intelligent connected vehicles. As of the end of 2023, the city's cumulative open test road mileage has exceeded 3,378.73 kilometers (one-way mileage), covering 12 administrative districts in Wuhan, a radiation area of ​​approximately 3,000 square kilometers, and reaching a population of over 7.7 million. The number of open mileage and open areas remains first in the country.

Baidu began to lay out the field of autonomous driving in 2013, and has been insisting on marathon-style R&D investment for more than ten years, driving long-term development with technological innovation. In 2017, Baidu launched Apollo, the world's first open platform for autonomous driving, providing a model for partners in the automotive industry and the field of autonomous driving. In May 2020, the Baidu Apollo Technology Park in Yizhuang, Beijing was completed. It has become the world's largest autonomous driving and vehicle-road collaborative application test base, and is also the base that Baidu currently relies on most in the field of autonomous driving.

Through the testing and development of platforms and bases, Baidu has spread the experience of Carrot Run to other cities. At present, Baidu Apollo has grown into the world's most active open platform for autonomous driving, bringing together more than 160,000 developers from more than 170 countries and regions around the world. At the same time, the total mileage of Baidu Apollo's autonomous driving tests has exceeded 90 million kilometers.

It is reported that Baidu has obtained more than 1,500 autonomous driving test licenses and more than 5,000 autonomous driving patent families, among which the number of high-level autonomous driving patent families ranks first in the world.

New productivity represented by the Carrot Run is constantly reshaping the traditional automobile industry. AI+cars are a true reflection and epitome of Wuhan's efforts to cultivate and expand "new productivity" in the new era. Carrot Run vehicles rely on laser radar, cameras, perception systems, and high-precision maps to achieve autonomous driving, which can meet the needs of traveling in the city.

Since the unveiling of the Wuhan National Intelligent Connected Vehicle Test Demonstration Zone in 2019, Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone has also initially built a complete industrial ecosystem of "R&D testing + commercial operation + key components + OEM". In the Wuhan Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone, nearly 100 vehicles of more than 10 types, including driverless taxis and buses, have carried out basic testing or demonstration operations, and the demonstration application leads the country.

Crossing a river, radiating to Central China

After the cross-river operation, Turnip Express has expanded from the north of the Yangtze River to the south of the Yangtze River, doubling its operating area and serving population, realizing the transition of autonomous driving from "demonstration testing" to "city-level application", and Wuhan has firmly established itself as the world's largest autonomous driving travel service area. At the same time, Wuhan's smart expansion has expanded to 3,000 square kilometers, covering a population of 7.7 million.

Chen Zhuo, general manager of Baidu's autonomous driving business unit, said: "Wuhan is one of the first batch of dual-intelligence pilot cities in the country. For many years, it has been seizing new opportunities for the upgrading and development of the intelligent connected vehicle industry and cultivating and expanding new quality productivity. The first cross-river passage of the fully unmanned autonomous driving car of the Turnip Run is a preliminary manifestation of Wuhan's efforts to develop new energy and intelligent connected vehicle industries and focus on the development of artificial intelligence over the years."

It is worth mentioning that after the cross-river traffic is opened, Wuhan's two strategic emerging industries of new energy vehicles and artificial intelligence will be connected, and the two scientific and technological innovation highland of Auto Valley and Optics Valley will build a bridge, which is of great significance to the development of China's intelligent connected vehicle industry.

Luobo Kuaipao is not just crossing a river, but also delivering the successful case of "Wuhan intelligent connected vehicle industry + Baidu's autonomous driving technology" to all parts of the country, bringing new opportunities for China's automobile industry to lead the world.

With Wuhan as the core, Robtaxi will radiate and drive the development of autonomous driving and intelligent connected industries in the central China region. Data shows that Robtaxi's current market penetration rate in the entire taxi industry is about 3%, and it is expected to reach 22% in 2027. By 2030, Robtaxi's market penetration rate will exceed 50%.

The successful crossing of the river by Turnip Run not only provides a convenient way of travel for Wuhan citizens, but also sets a new benchmark for the development of the national intelligent connected vehicle industry. At present, 21 cities in China, including Beijing, Wuhan, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, have issued local policies for autonomous driving tests, and more than 60 companies have obtained autonomous driving test licenses.

The combination of "Wuhan intelligent connected vehicle industry + Baidu's autonomous driving technology" has made Wuhan a national highland for the development of intelligent connected vehicles. Autonomous driving has gone beyond the scope of "regional demonstration" and is gradually moving towards the large-scale implementation of "city-level applications". More and more Chinese versions of "Phoenix City" are gathering momentum in anticipation.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.