Suzhou builds China's first L4-level autonomous driving smart highway as a market worth $43 billion sets sail

Suzhou's smart transportation construction has achieved new results. The first smart highway in China that meets the level of vehicle-road cooperative automatic driving will soon be put into use in Suzhou. This means that on this smart highway, autonomous vehicles can achieve L4 level driving, that is, the machine completely takes over the driving, and the driver does not need to respond to all system requests.

This project is one of the key projects launched by Suzhou Municipal Party Committee and Municipal Government to promote the construction of smart transportation. It is led by Suzhou Municipal Transportation Bureau and jointly participated by Suzhou Highway Administration, Sutai Expressway Co., Ltd., Jiangsu Provincial Highway Administration and other units. The project includes a total of 56 kilometers of Sutai Expressway S17 bidirectional section, where 55 sensor points have been invested and built, and 83% of the total project volume has been completed.

It is reported that the road section is equipped with advanced vehicle-road cooperative technology. With the support of sensors such as laser radar and cameras installed above the road, the "intelligent highway roadside perception unit" can obtain rich road information and realize the instantaneous collection and transmission of information such as all traffic participants and road conditions on the road section. Through the vehicle-road cooperative system, information such as blind spots and actual road conditions can be sent to autonomous vehicles in advance. In this way, autonomous vehicles can make more accurate and safe decisions based on real-time information.

91che believes that this project is an important breakthrough in the field of domestic autonomous driving, providing a new application scenario and testing platform for autonomous driving. It not only demonstrates Suzhou's leading level and innovative ability in smart transportation construction, but also provides reference for the development of autonomous driving in China and even the world. At the same time, it is also conducive to improving the safety and efficiency of highways and reducing the risk of traffic accidents and congestion.

According to data from Strategy Analytics, an international market research organization, the global autonomous driving market is expected to reach US$173 billion in 2023, a year-on-year increase of 39.6%. The Chinese market is expected to reach US$43 billion, a year-on-year increase of 42.7%, accounting for 24.9% of the global market share. China has become one of the world's largest autonomous driving markets and has huge development space and potential.

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.