A driverless electric truck, said to be the first in the world, starts a trial operation at Tianjin Port, April 12, 2018. The truck was jointly developed by Tianjin Port Group, SINOTRUK and Tianjin-based driverless truck startup Zhuxian Technology. (Photo: China News Service/Zhang Daozheng)
A domestically-developed self-driving electric truck has successfully completed testing at the Tianjin Port on Thursday.
The truck, equipped with laser radar, high-definition camera, and intelligent computing abilities, completed operations such as driving, parking, container loading and unloading, as well as responding to roadblocks.
"The successful test marks China's latest breakthrough in developing self-driving trucks for port operations, which will contribute to the development of green and high-tech logistics," said Zhu Lianyi, an official with Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd.
The truck, boasting a world-class driving system, can run for 120 km when fully loaded, and charge fully within one hour.
It was jointly developed by Tianjin Port (Group) Co., Ltd, China National Heavy Duty Truck Group Co., Ltd, and Tianjin TruckTech company.
Zhang Tianlei, founder and CEO of Tianjin TruckTech, said the technology used on the truck can ensure good performance at night, and in fog, rain and snow.
Automated container wharves are the future trend for the development of ports. Self-driving trucks offer a logistics solution for the construction of automated ports.
Tianjin Port registered a throughput of over 15 million standard containers in 2017, and aims to increase that number to 18 million in 2020.
