The University of Macau recently held a launch ceremony for the autonomous driving bus test platform, marking the official opening of Macau’s first autonomous bus and another breakthrough in the transformation of UM’s scientific research results. Ankai self-driving bus will be piloted in the University of Macau. During the period, driving data will be collected for analysis and research in preparation for future driving on Macau public roads.

In his speech, University of Macau President Song Yonghua said that as the inevitable trend of the future development of the automotive industry, the development of autonomous vehicle technology has become a global trend, and major countries around the world have participated in the research and development, and have successively landed trial operations. UM’s self-driving bus test platform combines multiple technologies to form an efficient transportation system of “people, vehicles, and roads”, and focuses on how to use self-driving buses as public transportation in Macau’s complex and congested traffic scenes. The UM will use influential and innovative key research results to transform, serve the public, further strengthen the university's service field in Macau, and write a new chapter in the public transportation of Macau and even the smart city of the Greater Bay Area.

In his speech, Chen Yunxi, Chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Macao Science and Technology Development Fund, pointed out that the University of Macau has a solid foundation in the field of smart cities and the Internet of Things. Talent training and research will gradually lead the development of urban innovation practices. The autonomous driving project is conducive to universities to improve the scientific research level of frontier disciplines, to stimulate the transformation of scientific and technological achievements into economic benefits, and to promote the development of industry, university and research. At the same time, It is expected for the University of Macau’s to research on autonomous driving as well as research on traffic planning and real-time traffic guidance through urban big data, so as to accelerate Macau’s construction of a smart city.

The self-driving bus project successfully uses artificial intelligence, big data processing, Internet of Things, cloud computing and other technologies to collect road information (such as traffic signals, pedestrians and vehicles on the road), so that buses can be safely and reliably in an open and uncertain environment Drive, make it integrated with the environment, and form an efficient transportation system of "people, buses, and roads". This Ankai self-driving bus is 6.6 meters long and can currently carry 8 passengers. It has two modes of manual and intelligent driving, which can be switched according to actual needs. In the automatic driving mode, the bus can detect static and dynamic obstacles and traffic signs such as vehicles, pedestrians, zebra crossings and traffic lights, and can slow down or stop according to actual conditions. Buses also have functions such as autonomous lane changing and automatic stopping at bus stops. The speed does not exceed 40km/h, and the safety and stability meet the requirements of bus operation. UM will open online registration to teachers, students and the public later, so that everyone can take the lead in experiencing self-driving buses.

As an innovative model of domestic luxury and new energy buses, Ankai Bus currently has three major national-level enterprise technology centers, the National Electric Bus System Integration Engineering Technology Research Center, and the National and Local Joint Engineering Research Center for Electric Bus System Development and Application. A national-level R&D platform with platform products for 6-12m pure electric buses, 8-12m plug-in hybrid buses, and 8.5-12m hydrogen fuel buses.

Ankai will also take this opportunity to follow the new development trend of electrification, connectivity, intelligence and sharing, continue to carry out technological innovation, and strive to make better Ankai buses and the best Chinese buses.