How to solve the problem of industry-university-research cooperation in intelligent connected vehicles despite heavy external pressure and strong domestic demand

Recently, my country has officially launched the research and test work on the frequency division of 77-81GHz millimeter wave radar for vehicles and LTE-V technology for vehicle-to-vehicle communication, taking another small step on the road to promoting the development of intelligent connected vehicles. It is worth noting that the participants in this research work include not only vehicle and related parts companies, but also communication companies, Internet technology companies and research institutions, which can be regarded as a major initiative for the industry-university-research cooperation of intelligent connected vehicle technology.

"For intelligent connected vehicles, it is difficult for a single company or even a certain industry to 'successfully succeed', so the need for cooperation between industry, academia and research is more urgent and the role is more important." Zhao Fuquan, dean of the Institute of Automotive Industry and Technology Strategy of Tsinghua University, said in an interview with reporters. Since the products and market of intelligent connected vehicles are not yet mature, my country's independent brands are expected to compete with multinational companies on the same starting line, but for independent brands that "want to compete with foreign capital", I am afraid that cooperation between industry, academia and research is the key to realizing the development blueprint of intelligent connected vehicles. "If the cooperation between industry, academia and research is not done well, intelligent connected vehicles will not go far at all." Zhao Fuquan asserted.

Strong demand for industry-university-research cooperation

As Fu Yuwu, chairman of the China Society of Automotive Engineers, said, on the road from a large automobile country to a powerful automobile country, the problem of the lack of core technology of independent brands has not been solved. The main reason is that cross-border collaboration and industry-university-research cooperation are not deep enough. Similarly, this phenomenon continues to the field of intelligent networked vehicles, and even the cooperation in the development of intelligent networked vehicle technology is even more lacking. However, the situation that the reporter learned is that independent brand intelligent networked vehicles are facing increasing external pressure, and the willingness of all parties to cooperate is increasing day by day. The current situation, industry-university-research cooperation is "on the string and must be launched."

In recent years, many Internet companies represented by Google, IBM and Uber are scrambling to develop intelligent connected car technology or product manufacturing. In promoting the field of intelligent connected cars, my country's independent brands are facing more than just challenges and "oppression" from multinational auto companies. Cheng Bo, director of Tsinghua University's Suzhou Automotive Research Institute, pointed out that the field of intelligent connected cars is welcoming more and more "spoilers".

Cheng Bo believes that the lack of successful cases of industry-university-research cooperation in the automotive industry is due to the lack of motivation for cooperation between enterprises, universities and research institutions in the traditional technology field. Today, intelligent connected vehicles have been identified as one of the strategic development directions of the automotive industry. Whether it is automobile and Internet companies, universities, or research institutions, they all know the importance of exploring cooperation in the "no man's land". "The R&D system of independent brand cars has been initially established. After occupying an important position on the world stage, communication companies represented by Huawei are facing adjustments in development direction and strategy, while universities and research institutions are facing the embarrassing situation of technology industrialization. The cooperation needs of all parties have become unprecedentedly strong." Cheng Bo said.

There are still many hurdles to overcome

However, there is a need for cooperation but there is a lack of ways to cooperate, and there are even many obstacles.

In the past, in the development of traditional automotive technology, an important reason that restricted the in-depth cooperation between industry, academia and research institutes was the lack of third-party technology transfer institutions, which resulted in many technological achievements "waiting to be adopted". At the 3rd China Automotive Technology Transfer Conference held by Tsinghua University Suzhou Automotive Research Institute recently, Zhang Ning, deputy secretary-general of the China Society of Automotive Engineers, pointed out that third-party intermediary companies and financial institutions should not be absent in the process of industry, academia and research cooperation. They should not only protect the interests of developers, but also minimize the corresponding risks borne by enterprises.

In addition, the cooperation and transfer of intelligent networked vehicle technology seems to be more difficult. Zhao Fuquan pointed out that the industry-university-research cooperation in the field of intelligent networked vehicles will be cross-border cooperation in multiple disciplines, fields and ranges, so it involves a wider range and more participants, which brings new challenges to the industry-university-research cooperation in related fields.

Sensor technology, workshop communication protocol, cloud database, self-learning system... In the field of intelligent connected vehicles, emerging technologies are springing up like mushrooms after rain. Liao Yuefeng, general manager of Changzhou Haike New Energy Technology Co., Ltd., believes that another key factor hindering the in-depth cooperation between industry, academia and research is that the thinking of traditional automobile companies has not changed. How to promote independent brand car companies to accept and absorb new technologies as soon as possible and promote more emerging technologies to enter the application and industrialization stage has become an important issue. Zhang Ning emphasized that when it comes to applying new technologies or new processes, car companies lack an effective support system in the decision-making process and in the adjustment of corporate management. This problem needs to be solved urgently.

In addition, it cannot be ignored that the lack of compound talents is also one of the shortcomings in the industry-university-research cooperation in the field of intelligent connected vehicles. Zhang Ning pointed out that if nothing unexpected happens, the future talent competition in the field of intelligent connected vehicles will focus on compound high-end talents who are proficient in automotive technology, Internet technology and communication technology.

Expecting the government to play a greater role

At present, more than half of the cars in Japan have applied vehicle information and communication systems, and intelligent connected cars are gradually becoming a reality. Cheng Bo said that my country's current communications and Internet industries are already capable of competing with international giants, and intelligent connected cars that deeply integrate communications and Internet industries may become a major breakthrough for my country to catch up with foreign countries. In order to seize this rare opportunity, industry organizations and institutions are actively increasing the promotion of industry-university-research cooperation in intelligent connected vehicles. The China Society of Automotive Engineers has successively established the Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industry Technology Innovation Strategic Alliance and released the "China Intelligent Connected Vehicle Technology Development Roadmap"; the National Automobile Standardization Technical Committee has completed the preparation of the ISO standard draft "Terms and Definitions of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems"...

However, Zhao Fuquan believes that the cooperation in intelligent networked vehicles is no longer limited to collaborative research in a single technical field. Data sharing, standard co-construction and road infrastructure construction are also top priorities, and the in-depth participation of relevant government departments is particularly important. "Made in China 2025" has identified intelligent networked vehicles as one of the key areas for the development of national intelligent manufacturing in the next decade, but how to implement the strategy and truly promote industry-university-research cooperation has become a major issue for relevant government departments.

In September this year, the U.S. Department of Transportation released the "U.S. Autonomous Vehicle Policy Guidelines"; the governments of South Korea and Japan have both begun to revise relevant laws and regulations such as the "Road Traffic Law" and the "Road Transport Vehicle Law". Wu Zhongze, chairman of the China Intelligent Transportation Association, pointed out that relevant government departments need to actively organize cross-industry and cross-departmental cooperation between government, industry, academia, research and application, overcome key common core technologies between intelligent networked vehicles, and coordinate the construction of facilities such as road communication technology to create a new model for intelligent transportation construction and operation.

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.