Emerging technologies contribute to high-quality development of transportation industry

Emerging technologies like 5G, big data and artificial intelligence (AI) have contributed to improvements in infrastructure and transport equipment and services, promoting high-quality development of the transportation industry.

Accelerating this new type of infrastructure construction is a key way to promote digital transformation and smart upgrading of transportation infrastructure.

The Ministry of Transportation issued a guideline on pushing forward new infrastructure construction in transportation which clarifies making full use of technological innovation, and focuses on digitalization, networking and intelligentization to improve transportation efficiency and functions, push forward digital and smart transformation of transportation infrastructure, and build convenient, economically-efficient, green and integrated, smart and advanced and safe and reliable new types of transportation infrastructure.

For example, the Yangshan Port in Shanghai has built a wharf with the world's highest level of integrated automation and its algorithm-based automatic control system has been used in Hangzhou, East China's Zhejiang province to control queuing for cars in train stations.

The Yangshan Port in Shanghai is equipped with automatic systems, the first of its kind in the country. [Photo/IC]

Digital and smart technologies are improving transportation services in people's daily lives.

People can call a taxi by opening the Amap application on the smart phone. At present, a project based on Amap's taxi-calling digital upgrading solutions is underway in dozens of cities like Beijing, Tianjin and Shenzhen, which eases people's travel while lowering the empty-loaded rate of taxis.

Wang Guixin, vice-president of Amap, said that the company will continue to provide users high-quality, convenient and technological travel services based on improved technologies, operation and service capacity.

Using the Amap application to call a taxi has become an easy, convenient and popular way of traveling in China. [Photo/IC]

As a major form of transportation in China, railway has taken the ride of technology and achieved progress in speed.

The first Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed train departed from the Beijing North Railway Station on Dec 30, 2019. Based on the Beidou Satellite Navigation System, the train had a speed of 350 kilometers per hour and was capable of automatic drive.

Zhang Bo, researcher at the Locomotive and Car Research Institute of China Academy of Railway Sciences, said that instead of driving, drivers on a smart high-speed train would concentrate on emergency handling of failures, which reduces workload of the drivers and improves energy efficiency and comfort during operation.

The first Beijing-Zhangjiakou high-speed train is ready for service at the Beijing North Railway Station on Dec 30, 2019. [Photo/IC]

In addition to high-speed railway transport, highway transportation also benefits from development of emerging technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence (AI).

In 2020, the highway operator of Central China's Hunan province, Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. and Hunan-based TalkWeb Information System Co., Ltd. jointly launched an AI toll collection audit solution that can quickly recognize cars trying to escape tolls and give an evidence chain by tracking vehicle routing, analyzing vehicle failures and carrying out data mining.

AI technology also contributes to parking lot management, traffic light controlling and positioning, bringing convenience to working and traveling and promoting transformation and upgrading of the transportation industry.