A new form of transport that is quite literally going places. The Sharing-VAN operates at Dongfeng Technology Center, on June 12. [Photo/official WeChat account of WHDZ]
An unmanned minibus dubbed the Sharing-VAN, developed by automaker Dongfeng Motor Co, started mass production with the first batch of six vehicles rolling off the production line on June 12, according to the official WeChat account of Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone, or WHDZ.
Officials from the WHDZ -- located in Wuhan in Central China's Hubei province -- said this made Dongfeng Motor Co the first domestic automobile company to realize industrialization and commercial operation of Level 4 autonomous driving vehicles, incorporating 5G long-distance driving technology.
The minibus Sharing-VAN has reached the highest level of autonomous driving currently available -- Level 4 -- which is a highly autonomous driving, leading up to fully autonomous Level 5 driving.
The full name of the vehicle is the Dongfeng Sharing-VAN 1.0 plus and it comes equipped with four laser radars, one millimeter wave radar, 16 ultrasonic radars and 12 cameras.
The customized high-tech vehicle has no steering wheel, throttle and brakes and the interior resembles a living room.
Its 13 functions include dynamic speed limits, dynamic obstacle avoidance, automatic parking, remote controls and dispatch monitoring.
WHDZ officials said the special minibus can be used in various scenarios, with the appropriate upgrades.
Earlier in March, the Sharing-VAN went into operation to perform disinfections in the streets of the WHDZ.
Equipped with a 16 liter large-capacity fully automatic disinfection sprayer, it can sterilize 1.1 kilometers of road in a single pass and can cover an area of about 10,000 square meters in only 15 minutes, which is far more efficient than manual labor.
The first batch of six Sharing-VAN vehicles will be delivered to the Pilot National Laboratory for Marine Science and Technology located in Qingdao, Shandong province. There, it will be used for passenger transportation and goods deliveries in the laboratory’s intelligent park.
According to Dongfeng officials, more than 70 Sharing-VAN vehicles will be delivered to users in places including Beijing, Zhejiang province and Guangdong province, within one to two months.
