Application of the industry of connected vehicles is speeding up in a variety of fields thanks to the development of advanced technology such as 5G and a series of beneficial policies.

A self-driving taxi in Changsha, Hunan province. (Photo/Chen Zhenhai)

Chinese mapping service provider AutoNavi has recently piloted an unmanned car-hailing project in Shanghai, which enables residents to order a self-driving taxi on the platform.

Unlike normal self-driving cars that can only park in fixed locations, the company’s AutoX will pick up a passenger at a safe location based on the passenger’s starting point and route.

The car will also include a security person to ensure its safe operation and who will also give passengers information on the car during the journey, such as its speed.

Data from the think tank CCID suggests that the market scale of China's Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is expected to reach 115 billion yuan in 2021.

It is believed that the further application of 5G technology will allow IoV to develop in a faster and more stable way.

For example, 5G technology will allow vehicles to upgrade their automatic driving systems remotely and quickly, thus reducing possible security gaps, preventing accidents caused by system crashes and bringing the safety and reliability of the cars to a new level.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology has issued a notice proposing that 5G be combined with the Internet of Vehicles, and the speeding up in formulating the standards of wireless communication technology for the IoV.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Transport has also rolled out technical specifications on the planning and construction of road ancillary facilities in order to better support automated driving.

A series of related standards are also being established, which will help to effectively control smart vehicles under demonstration and facilitate the trial operation of more vehicles in the future, insiders pointed out.