First smart gas station opens in Chongqing

The first smart gas station built by China National Petroleum Corp opened in Chongqing on Thursday, where the staff can complete payment within 30 seconds with a pair of special eyeglasses, media reported.

Thanks to the newly-installed electronic signboards, there were no cars in the queue at Xinpaifang gas station in Chongqing at 11 am, which used to be rush hour for refueling, according to Chongqing Morning Post.

"In the past, drivers could not see which refueling stand was available when they drove into the station, so they lined up at the entrance. Now every refueling stand is installed with an electronic signboard, enabling drivers to know which are vacant and drive straight to the available stands to avoid waiting," a gas station staff member said.

Staff members wear a pair of special eyeglasses to help finish payment within 30 seconds.

When the refueling is done, the driver's license plate number is scanned by a staff member with the special eyeglasses and announces the number of the fuel pump and the amount of money owed. The driver then shows the payment QR code on his phone, which is scanned with the eyeglasses, completing the payment.

"In the past, drivers needed to go to the cashier desk to pay for the gas. The special eyeglasses help drivers pay while sitting in their own vehicles," said a staff member from the information division of the Chongqing branch of CNPC.

"We are studying the application of facial recognition technology in the gas station to achieve face scanning payment," he added.

The intelligent gas station has more smart functions, such as self-checkout tills at the convenience store, which supports code scanning payment, face scanning payment via WeChat and payment via CNPC's Zhong You Hao Ke App. There also are two charging piles in the station to meet the increasing demand of new energy vehicle owners.

"The CNPC will upgrade more traditional gas stations in the major districts of Chongqing based on technologies such as big data, cloud computing and artificial intelligence in the next five years. We will build more intelligent gas stations to provide smarter and more convenient services for customers," said Zhang Lianzhong, general manager assistant of the Chongqing branch of CNPC.

Ye Qian contributed to the story.