China builds new intelligent driving lab to boost smart car

CHONGQING, Feb. 11 (Xinhua) -- A new integrated intelligent driving laboratory, capable of simulating real vehicles, dynamic traffic and climate conditions simultaneously, has commenced operations in a high-tech zone in southwest China's Chongqing Municipality.

Covering over 5,000 square meters, this lab is a global pioneer in serving as a full-scenario testing platform integrating vehicle motion control, rain-fog-light simulation and complex traffic flow simulation, thereby establishing a more realistic and efficient verification system for intelligent driving and thus meeting the needs of China's fast-growing smart car industry, China Media Group (CMG) reported on Tuesday.

The lab will enable comprehensive safety validation for intelligent driving vehicles before mass production, covering extreme and realistic scenarios. It aims to strengthen the safety and technological foundation for future smart mobility and support high-quality development of the intelligent vehicle industry, according to the report.

Notably, the lab has pioneered a smart drag system, which is a mechanism capable of towing vehicles at speeds up to 130 km/h, surpassing the industry norm of 100 km/h. This allows precise replication of traffic participant behaviors, including sudden pedestrian crossing scenarios.

Additionally, the lab features an environment-adjustable system that continuously fine-tunes rain, fog and light parameters, realistically recreating dynamic weather transitions.

Another breakthrough is the real-time integration of physical environments and complex traffic flows. Here, real vehicles are able to interact instantly with simulated traffic in realistic settings, solving the fragmentation problem common in traditional lab tests.

Listing AI as one of the strategic industries to be promoted through better policy and governance, China has been at the forefront of autonomous driving development. Chinese authorities have designated at least 20 cities and city clusters as pilot zones for the application of "vehicle-road-cloud" integration for intelligent connected vehicles.

The lab in Chongqing is expected to bolster research and standard-setting for intelligent and new energy vehicles in China, accelerating automotive industry transformation, CMG reported.