As technology changes, the chief engineer of the bridge crosses the Yangtze River in Baidu's fully driverless car

　　On February 28, the day after the fully unmanned self-driving car completed the "first span of the Yangtze River" in Wuhan, Li Xinghua, deputy chief engineer of the China Railway Bridge Bureau Group and chief engineer of the Wuhan Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge Project, drove an unmanned vehicle Driving across the Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge, the builder of Wuhan's transportation revolution once again witnessed the new way of crossing the Yangtze River.

　　Just the day before, technological innovation once again refreshed the way to cross the Yangtze River in Wuhan. Baidu's Luobo Kuaishou fully unmanned self-driving car smoothly crossed the Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge and Baishazhou Bridge, realizing the "Ten Thousand Miles" of fully unmanned self-driving cars in my country. The first crossing of the Yangtze River."

　　Li Xinghua has been involved in the field of bridge construction since 1988 and is a senior expert in bridge construction in China. He has participated in the construction and scientific research of large bridges and railway lines such as the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge, the Second Qiantang River Bridge, the Wuhu Yangtze River Bridge, the Shantou Bay Bridge, and the Qinghai-Tibet Railway. He worked on key projects and served as the chief engineer of Chongqing Caiyuanba Yangtze River Bridge and Fuzhou Gushan Bridge projects. His career has witnessed many changes in the way people in Wuhan cross the river.

　　"People in Wuhan cannot do without crossing the river. From ferries to bridges to today's fully driverless cars, our manufacturing technology and science and technology are improving, and the way people cross the river is constantly iterating." 12:00 on the 28th. Li Xinghua, chief engineer of the Wuhan Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge project, sighed when he got on a Baidu Carrot Kuaishou fully unmanned self-driving car and passed by the Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge.

　　This is not the first time that fully autonomous driving has been put on the road in Wuhan. This time across the river, it is the first time that a fully autonomous driving vehicle has been on an elevated bridge. According to reports, in this typical scenario of an elevated highway, autonomous vehicles need to face aggressive car cuts and ramp merging. , blocking scenarios and a series of complex challenges.

During the ride, no one was operating inside the car or in the main driving position, and traffic was flowing on the bridge outside the car.

When the ramp merges, the vehicle runs smoothly.

　　Li Xinghua specifically looked at the numbers on the dashboard in the car. The top speed was 79 kilometers per hour, and the speed was within the speed limit.

Driving to the middle section of the Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge, he opened the car window and admired the tenth Yangtze River Bridge that was opened to traffic in 2019.

　　The Wuhan Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge connects Hanyang and Wuchang. The main span of the bridge is 1,700 meters. It took 5 years to build. It spans the Yangtze River in one step. It still holds the record for the world's largest span double-decker highway suspension bridge. Li Xinghua still remembers the construction process of the bridge. At that time, in order to ensure the quality of the bridge, in the face of complex geological conditions, we concentrated on reliable construction technology in the middle stage of the construction. In the end, we made a brilliant mark in the history of world bridge construction by using the airbag method to launch the caisson with the largest water weight. For the first time, hard soil was used to sink the caisson New technology for sinking super large caissons under layer conditions, new large-segment fully welded assembly technology for steel truss stiffening beams and new technology for thousand-ton overall hoisting are also adopted for the first time.

　　"China continues to pursue technological progress and scientific and technological progress in order to allow the Chinese people to have a better life." Li Xinghua said that Baidu's Radish Kuaishou fully driverless self-driving car has changed the way people cross bridges. During the construction period, people need to use their feet to walk, and they need to drive over during acceptance inspection. Carrot Run can complete the first span of the Yangtze River here. People have begun to measure the Yangtze River through autonomous driving. This is a step forward for my country to accelerate the realization of self-reliance in science and technology. new steps taken.

　　In recent years, with the rapid development of new technologies such as artificial intelligence, 5G communications, and big data, countries are accelerating the deployment of autonomous driving technology in the transportation field.

At the beginning of this year, Waymo, the largest self-driving travel service provider in the United States, announced that it would conduct a true “unmanned driving” test without safety personnel on the Phoenix Expressway in the United States. At the same time, Chinese companies were actively involved in the field of self-driving. Be one step ahead and hand in high-scoring papers, and start rapid iteration from closed site testing to road testing, from pilot demonstration to commercial trial operation.

Data shows that so far, 21 cities in my country, including Beijing, Wuhan, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen, have issued local policies for autonomous driving testing, and more than 60 companies have obtained autonomous driving testing licenses.

　　In the global competitive landscape of autonomous driving, only by enhancing independent control over core technologies in key areas can we develop high-quality products, improve our competitiveness in responding to market demands quickly, and seize the global industrial chain value distribution system.

Since 2013, Baidu has gradually accumulated its own technical barriers through high-intensity R&D investment of no less than 10 billion yuan per year.

Baidu’s latest financial report shows that as of January 2, 2024, the total service volume of Luobo Kuaipao exceeded 5 million orders; in the fourth quarter, the number of Luobo Kuaipao service orders increased by 49% year-on-year to 839,000 orders, and it is fully driverless in Wuhan. The order proportion reached 45%.

　　Chen Zhuo, general manager of Baidu's autonomous driving business department, said that the successful crossing of the Yangtze River by a fully driverless autonomous vehicle benefited from the Wuhan municipal government's strong support for the autonomous driving industry and the technological innovation of related companies.

In recent years, Wuhan has actively deployed the autonomous driving industry, attracting many well-known domestic and foreign companies and scientific research institutions to settle in, forming a complete industrial chain.

This cross-river experiment of fully unmanned autonomous vehicles is an important attempt by Wuhan in the field of autonomous driving technology, and is also an upgrade in the development of China's autonomous driving industry.