5G driverless delivery car appears in Beijing

A 5G driverless delivery car appears at an intelligent transportation forum. (Photo/Beijing Daily)

A 1.6-meter-high 5G unmanned delivery vehicle has drawn attention at an intelligent transportation forum, held by the Beijing Bicycle and Electric Vehicle Industry Association in China's capital city, Beijing Daily reported on Sept. 6, 2019.

This 5G self-driving vehicle, which was jointly developed and manufactured by a company under Beijing Institute of Technology and Dewin Technology Company, is still in its test stages. Guan Chaowen, head of the R&D team at the Beijing Institute of Technology, explained that compared with ordinary self-driving vehicles, 5G technology could help vehicles to complete complex commands and actions more precisely.

Guan Chaowen introduced that the loading space of this autonomous delivery car is more than ten cubic meters which could hold dozens of small packages at a time. The delivery car can now run 80 to 100 kilometers on a single charge, and has been tested and operated in enclosed places such as the Beijing Institute of Technology.

According to Chen Zhenbo, CEO of Dewin Technology Company, the driverless delivery car needs to run on a test section first, and can then deliver to consumers. This second stage is more complicated and requires experience accumulation. After that, the car can be scaled up.

Guo Jinzhi, President of the Beijing Bicycle and Electric Vehicle Industry Association, said that the association is drafting a "standard for commercial vehicles" to propose higher technical standards for e-bikes used for delivery. For example, a delivery driver racks up about 130 to 160 kilometers a day, while the average electric bike can only run around 40 or 50 kilometers. The new standard is expected to improve the range of delivery vehicles through technological advancement.