China-made driverless minibus to hit road in Italy

Beijing: Robobus, an unmanned minibus independently developed by a Chinese self-driving startup, is expected to hit the roads of the city of Turin at the foot of the Alps, and provide short-distance transportation services.

According to the developer, Guizhou Hankaisi Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd. (PIX Moving), the company will cooperate with Italian mobile travel solution provider Tecnocad to provide the service.

PIX Moving has already obtained a public road self-driving vehicle test and operation license approved by the regulatory authorities of the Turin municipal government.

Based in a high-tech development zone in Guiyang, PIX Moving’s core product, the driverless minibus, has already landed in countries including Spain, Japan, the United States and India.

The company said it has exported a Robobus model via marine transport to Turin, where it will undergo field tests before being put into service. More exports are expected depending on service demand.

The pure-electric vehicle has no traditional bus components like a driver’s cab, steering wheel, pedals or rearview mirrors. And it is designed symmetrically, without the distinction of front and rear, making it easy to move in both directions.

Robobus has a maximum speed of 30 km per hour. It can carry six passengers, with a range of 100-130 km on a single charge.

“The bottom of the minibus is an open source autonomous driving chassis. It is based on an independent modular platform, built with artificial intelligence technology and digital manufacturing technology, which can be installed with systems for different needs of customized services,” said Angelo Yu, founder and CEO of PIX Moving.