Two RoboBuses, five Robotaxis, and three unmanned sanitation vehicles began open road tests on an 11-km (7-mile) section from North Qinhai Road to West Qinhai Road between the Number 1 and 5 rest stations along the Hengqin Flower Corridor on Sept 15.

Hengqin residents and tourists may be able to experience such vehicles while enjoying the splendid natural scenery at the Hengqin Flower Corridor and Shizimen waterway during the upcoming National Day holiday, which will last from Oct 1 to 7. 

A RoboBus [Photo by Zeng Yao / Guanhai App]

The 10 vehicles were provided by three domestic automobile enterprises, namely Cowa Robot, Beijing QCraft, as well as Turnip Transport (Beijing) Technology, with mature and leading autonomous driving technologies. 

Special technical service is provided by Zhuhai Da Heng Qin Technology Development, which carries out real-time monitoring and technical analysis on the vehicle's operation data. Enterprises with excellent performance in the test will be able to launch more vehicles and Hengqin is expected to open more roads for road tests of intelligent autonomous driving vehicles in the future. 

Zhang Guoji, acting director of the zone's Urban Planning & Construction Bureau, said that these smart vehicles will provide more convenient transportation options for local residents, adding that they will be used in more scenarios like sightseeing, business trips, and checkpoint services. Experience coupons will also be released to promote the commercialized operation of the unmanned vehicles.