On April 12th, SINOCHEM Zhizhi, the world’s first unmanned electric truck, opened its trial operation at Tianjin Port and was an important leap from the conceptual product stage to the commercialization of the L4-level unmanned electric truck.

The reporter saw on the scene that, without intervention, the drone-equipped electric truck equipped with a laser radar, a high-definition camera, and an intelligent calculation unit completed specified actions such as road driving, precise parking, container handling, and obstacle response. The entire level of automatic transport of containers from the shore to the yard was achieved.

Zhu Lianyi, deputy director of the Tianjin Port Group’s branch of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said that the success of the trial operation not only marked the new breakthrough of smart driving in China’s unmanned electric trucks under port operating conditions, but also resolved the level of automated container terminals for the port. Transport problems provide feasible practical solutions, which have made beneficial explorations in promoting the development of green smart logistics in China.

“Intelligent” plus “new energy” Sinotruk’s two major weapon joint force

The appearance of this unmanned electric truck is not much different from ordinary container trucks except for the very eye-catching battery modules. Vehicles equipped with Beidou positioning system and laser radar, millimeter-wave radar, cameras, etc., supplemented by a number of artificial intelligence technology, can guarantee the weather at night, fog, rain and snow and cross-operation of personnel, vehicles, and equipment on site. Under complex conditions, maintain good operating conditions to meet the port’s 24-hour all-weather production operations.

Relying on the profound foundation and advanced design concept of 60 years of construction, CNHTC Group has integrated innovative technologies such as artificial intelligence, vehicle networking, cloud computing, new energy and new materials, and tailored the world’s first L4 class for the port. Driving an electric truck. The car model is “HOWO-T5G”, equipped with the world’s advanced driving system and mature and reliable pure electric central drive control system. The vehicle can travel up to 120 kilometers at full load, and the charging time is less than 1 hour.

Today, the major breakthrough of Sinotruk in the field of intelligence and new energy stems from the solid development and manufacturing. As the cradle of China’s heavy-duty auto industry, China National Heavy Duty Truck has always focused on the exploration in the field of intelligence and new energy. , is the pioneer of intelligent manufacturing, the leader of new energy vehicles.
In terms of intelligence, in September 2016, China National Heavy Duty Truck released an I-generation smart truck that combines the functions of anti-recovery, anti-rollover, anti-slump, anti-smashing, and adaptive cruising. The active safety of China’s heavy trucks has reached a new level. In December 2017, the first batch of 20 smart trucks of China National Heavy Duty Truck entered the market and led the domestic smart heavy trucks to enter a new stage of industrialization and commercialization. In February of this year, China National Heavy Duty Truck launched a large-scale smart truck marketing campaign. Seven events in seven cities opened the curtain at the same time. A total of 1,041 orders were received, setting off a Chinese smart truck carnival. In February, China National Heavy Duty Truck Co., Ltd. hired Kassel, the world’s leading authority on artificial intelligence, to serve as an artificial intelligence strategy consultant for China National Heavy Duty Truck Group. Kassel made a keynote speech at China National Heavy Duty Truck Group and saw China National Heavy Duty Truck’s intelligent production line and China After the Daiichi I-generation smart trucks, I marveled at the technical level of smart trucks and repeatedly praised Sinotruck’s smart trucks.

In the field of new energy vehicles, from the development of natural gas heavy trucks to the establishment of a hydrogen kinetic energy vehicle innovation center and the establishment of academician workstations, China National Heavy Duty Truck has been at the forefront in the conversion of old and new kinetic energy. At present, the product has covered various types such as pure electric, hybrid power and clean energy. In July 2017, the first hydrogen fuel cell terminal wagon of China National Heavy Duty Truck was launched. The hydrogen fuel terminal tractor has caused concern since its launch, and the trial operation of this pure electric truck has provided a green new choice for port vehicles.

Heavy-duty truck builds an L4 unmanned electric truck for the port, and economical safety cross-border transportation is the highlight

Tian Lei, deputy head of automotive electronics design department of China National Heavy Duty Truck Technology Development Center, said that in October 2017, China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co., Ltd. and academician Li Deyi of the Chinese Academy of Engineering jointly established the Sinotruk Intelligent Network Alliance Automotive Academician Workstation. The pilot operation was led by Li Deyi, a member of China National Heavy Duty Truck Group, Tianjin Port Group Corporation and Tianjin Mainline Technology Company. It is a tripartite deep technical cooperation and joint technological innovation of an automobile manufacturing company, a port user company, and a cutting-edge R&D enterprise. The bold attempt of strong cooperation will certainly speed up the update iteration of R&D of unmanned electric truck products, and innovation will promote the self-revolutionary reform of automated container terminals, and effectively promote the upgrade and development of China’s green intelligent logistics.

Automation container terminal is the future development trend of the port, and it is also an important symbol of the world-class marine port. For most ports, it is also a feasible and practical way to upgrade the existing container terminals through automation. However, how to use an economically viable solution to overcome the problem of horizontal transportation of containers has become a “stumbling block” for most ports.

Made in China to Created in China

At present, there are two main modes for the horizontal transport of automated container terminals. One is to use an automatic guided vehicle (AGV) and a ground-buried magnetic nail program, but the reconstruction cost is up to several million yuan. The other is the driverless electric truck program, which can intelligently drive into and out of docks and yards directly to send containers to designated locations. This not only shortens the transportation link, but also makes the price relatively cheaper. “Is it economically feasible for such a solution?” said Dr. Zhang Tianlei, founder and CEO of Tianjin Mainline Technology Co., Ltd.: In terms of cost, the cost of purchasing an unmanned electric truck is three times that of an automated guided vehicle. One or the other, but with the mass production of car manufacturers on the line will further decline. In terms of later use, the driverless electric truck has a simple structure, convenient parts purchase, and repair and maintenance are not much different from traditional container trucks, so the daily maintenance costs are relatively low. In addition, since drone-powered electric trucks do not require the use of other special equipment such as magnetic nails, they can not only adapt to the large-scale operations in the port area, but also drive out of the port area to meet more “transboundary” transportation needs.

Based on this pilot operation in Tianjin Port, CNHTC Group will focus on the requirements of China’s comprehensive and in-depth development of green transportation, and further develop smart truck products for smart high-speed, smart mining areas, and smart logistics parks. Intelligent electric container trucks with higher autopilot performance, lighter body, stronger chassis, faster charging, and longer driving range help boost the development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei green smart logistics, and strive to build itself into a global competitive force. The world-class enterprises have made “China Heavy Duty Truck Manufacturing” become a world-famous “hard currency”, thereby promoting China’s upgrading from a “manufacturing power” to a “manufacturing powerhouse” and achieving “made in China” to “created in China.” Butterfly change.