China Unicom unveils new solution for smart connected cars

Eyeing in-depth integration of vehicle-road-cloud systems for smart cars, China Unicom has unveiled an integrated solution 3.0 for intelligent connected vehicles.

The intelligent solution was released at the "Integrated Development of Vehicle-Road-Cloud "forum, a side event at the 2024 China 5G+ Industrial Internet Conference in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Wednesday.

"The latest solution integrates roadside sensing, edge computing, cloud-based data fusion, and other cutting-edge communication technologies, and can enable efficient collaboration among vehicles, infrastructure and cloud systems," said Zhou Guangtao, director of the intelligent connection research institute of China Unicom Smart Connection Technology.

By establishing a multitiered computing system, a unified security platform, a digital twin system and a comprehensive testing and certification framework, it leverages China Unicom's core strengths in the internet of vehicles (IoV) sector and aims to accelerate the industrialization of the vehicle-road-cloud integration for ICVs, Zhou added.

Vehicle-road-cloud integration, an autonomous driving solution led by China, will not only propel the country's ICV industry, but also drive the development of smart cities, traffic management and overall industrial upgrades, said Zhao Xiaoyu, general manager of the smart transportation division at the company.

To date, over 70 percent of connected vehicles in China use network services provided by China Unicom, covering 92 automakers. This has given the major telecom operator an edge in emerging as a key player in advancing such integration, Zhao added.

Vehicle-road-cloud integration is believed to be a key pathway to driving the large-scale industrial application of intelligent connected vehicles.

In July, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, along with four other departments, announced the first batch of pilot cities for vehicle-road-cloud integration applications. Hubei's Wuhan and Shiyan were among the selected cities.

"The inclusion of the two cities in the list signifies a new phase in the transformation and upgrading of Hubei's automotive industry," said Ai Jinqun, an official from Hubei's bureau of economy and information technology.

"Wuhan, for example, now serves as a global leader in autonomous driving services, bringing together a large number of core enterprises in the ICV industry chain," Ai added.

As China is ramping up efforts for the large-scale application of smart connection technologies, MIIT also launched its first batch of 10 pilot cities for the "5G+ industrial internet" integrated application during the conference on Tuesday. The cities include Wuhan; Nanjing in Jiangsu province; and Qingdao in Shandong province.