The 29th ITS World Congress held in Suzhou, China

The 29th World Congress on Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS World Congress) is held at Suzhou International Expo Centre in China from October 16 to 20. As the most influential international conference on intelligent transportation, the ITS World Congress is the highest-level and largest platform of displaying advanced transportation technologies and products. Suzhou is the second city in China to hold the Congress, according to the Information Office of Suzhou Municipal People's Government.

With the theme of "Driving Towards Intelligent Society–Quality Life", the Congress attracts over 8,000 visitors from more than 30 countries and regions. Experts, scholars and professionals held discussions and sharing sessions on eight topics: "sustainability and transformation of transportation", "cooperative autonomous transportation", "intelligent and digital transportation infrastructure", "comprehensive transportation system", "improving services through advanced technologies", "future development of intelligent city and transportation industry", "pricing and management of transportation service needs", and "policies, standards and coordination".

The event includes an opening ceremony, minister-level round-table conferences, mayor-level round-table conferences and over 120 academic conferences.

An exhibition area of more than 22,000 square meters showcases the up-to-date achievements of the world intelligent transportation in an all-round way.

Nine outdoor demonstration projects were unveiled in the exclusive demonstration area of nearly 15,000 square meters next to the conference venue, showcasing the most innovative products, equipment, solutions, and services in the field of intelligent transportation, including unmanned flying cars, unmanned cruise ships, autonomous minibuses, and unmanned aerial vehicles for cleaning.

Suzhou has grown into a major industrial cluster of the internet of vehicles in China. As of this August, there were nearly 450 companies related to the internet of vehicles in the city, including 197 high-tech companies, 10 listed companies and five listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board. Suzhou has been strengthening, consolidating, and extending industrial chains, which now cover over 30 fields including autonomous driving algorithms, optical laser radar, high-accuracy maps and advanced assisted driving.

As one of important outcomes, a smart expressway started operating in Xiangcheng District, Suzhou on October 12. A section of the smart expressway, spanning 6.5 km, was designed for self-driving vehicles of high automation, also known as level 4 autonomous driving, where an unmanned vehicle can perform all driving functions except in certain conditions, said Suzhou's transportation department. It noted in the section's demonstration test that a 49-tonne unmanned truck from Suzhou-based Zhijia Technology Co., Ltd. performed well in identifying obstacles, moving cars, and reverse cars, and completed driving behaviors, including ramp entry, lane change, and overtaking.

Source: Information Office of Suzhou Municipal People's Government