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When it comes to spurring the development of cutting-edge technologies, the Chinese government is rather pragmatic in its policymaking process. In the field of autonomous driving, the country has made some big strides in defining the parameters and limitations for service providers, removing regulatory ambiguity and granting industry players the freedom to test the nascent technology.<\/p>\n
The Chinese Ministry of Transport recently unveiled<\/a> a set of trial guidelines for autonomous vehicle services like robotaxis, self-driving trucks and robobuses. The release arrived about 16 months after the department began seeking public opinions<\/a> on the regulatory framework.<\/p>\n Prior to the introduction of the nationwide guidelines, policymaking on AV had been playing out in a more decentralized fashion, with local governments formulating their own rules for service providers on their turf. Major tech clusters like Beijing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, for example, have been frontrunners<\/a> in allowing companies to test AVs with minimum human interference.<\/p>\n There are a couple of noteworthy points from the new guidelines, and a close read reveals some interesting contrasts between the perspectives of Chinese and U.S. regulators regarding the nascent technology.<\/p>\n For one, the rules stipulate that AVs, regardless of their level of automation, can only operate within designated areas. Autonomous buses, for example, should run in \u201cenclosed or roads with relatively simple conditions.\u201d The restriction sounds slightly more relaxed for robotaxis, which are allowed under \u201ccontrolled and safe traffic conditions.\u201d Robo trucks have the most explicit restrictions that limit them to only \u201cpoint-to-point highways or good traffic conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Aside from obtaining permits for their AVs, operators should also apply for the relevant licenses required for public transportation service providers. AVs should be labeled clearly to alert other drivers on the road.<\/p>\n The guidelines make only one reference to software, mandating that over-the-air upgrades adhere to regulations from the Ministry of Industry and Information to ensure their safety.<\/p>\n The rules also specify the requirements for safety operators at various degrees of automation. Autonomous cargo trucks should \u201cin principle\u201d be equipped with in-car safety operators. Robotaxis with advanced automation should have one in-car safety operator. And robotaxis with full automation provided that they run in certain areas, can be monitored by remote safety operators who should not oversee more than three vehicles.<\/p>\n Unlike U.S. regulators, which require reporting by AV operators in the event of accidents, China applies a more top-down approach. According to the guidelines laid out by China\u2019s Ministry of Transport, AVs are expected to monitor and store the status of the vehicles, while also transmitting essential data in real-time to both the service provider and the relevant local regulatory authorities. They should also have an agreement\u00a0with the vehicle manufacturers and safety operators on the respective party\u2019s scope of responsibilities.<\/p>\n So what information do the regulators expect in case of an accident? The rules mandate that the AVs should have a minimum of 90 seconds of recorded event data, which include the vehicle\u2019s license plate number, control mode, location, speed, acceleration and direction. It should also showcase the car\u2019s perception of the environment and its response, signal status, a 360-degree camera view of the car\u2019s surroundings, and remote orders or malfunction diagnoses, if any.<\/p>\n Most notably, the data should also include in-car video and<\/em> audio recordings of driver behavior and human-machine interaction. Cruise<\/a> and Waymo<\/a>, in comparison, only record videos and only activate audio recordings during live support calls. The audio requirement for AVs isn\u2019t that surprising after all, given that Chinese ride-sharing services like Didi have full recordings of in-car conversations.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n