"The time of unmanned driving has come, and what we need to do is to integrate it with transportation planning," said Professor Arnaud de la Fortelle, director of the robotics research center of MINES ParisTech, at a China-France intelligent and sustainable travel forum held in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone (WHDZ), central China’s Hubei province, on June 26.
The forum was organized by the Consulate General of France in Wuhan, attracting experts and academics in the intelligent automobile sector in China and France, to share opinions on such topics as automatic driving and new energy cars.
A China-France intelligent and sustainable travel forum is held in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, Hubei province, June 26. [Photo/WeChat account of WHDZ]
According to Arnaud de la Fortelle, there are still many challenges in introducing artificial intelligence to driving. For instance, the machine's identification of colors and road signs cannot match that of a human.
"While I believe that in the next five to 10 years, technology will be able to overcome today's problems," he added.
Professor Arnaud de la Fortelle addresses the forum held in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone, June 26. [Photo/WeChat account of WHDZ]
Lu Chihua, a professor at Wuhan University of Technology, said that many cars already had automatic driving functions such as cruise control, lane keeping systems, and traffic light recognition technology.
Professor Lu Chihua addresses the forum on June 26. [Photo/WeChat account of WHDZ]
With the development of automation technology, cars will be more and more under the control of technology, and eventually achieve complete automatic driving capabilities, Lu added.
Gui Yonghua, consul-general of France in Wuhan, said that China is playing a major part in the development of intelligent vehicles, and has introduced many policies and plans to encourage the growth of the industry.
Wuhan is an important city in China's automobile industry and has considerable development advantages as it is currently constructing a national intelligent network-linked automobile demonstration base. Further cooperation is expected between Wuhan and France, added Gui.
A delegation of representatives from hydrogen companies in France also visited Wuhan during the forum, seeking cooperation with companies in the city involved in the hydrogen energy sector.
