標題: 中英雙语 纽约時報 無人駕驶巴士将台灣载向智能交通... [打印本頁] 作者: admin 時間: 2023-8-16 12:35 標題: 中英雙语 纽约時報 無人駕驶巴士将台灣载向智能交通... In Taiwan, Driverless Bus Trials Seen as Road to Future
無人駕驶巴士将台灣载向智能交通的将来？
TAIPEI, Taiwan — Rolling with a barely audible hum beneath banyan trees, a
brightly painted shuttle bus cruised through a university campus here.
台灣台北——近来的一個夏季里，一輛亮色班車在本地一個大黉舍园的榕树下驶過，發出几近听不見的嗡鸣。
The electric vehicle crawls along no faster than 6 m.p.h. And only 12
passengers can fit inside. But the bus also drives itself — and is raising
hopes in Taipei that autonomous public transportation will be up and running
here within a year.
“The idea of one day being able to ride around this city in driverless
vehicles is quite exciting,” said Amber Chen, who was riding with her
8-year-old son Ruey-Shen.
The bus tests are partly to prove the technology is safe to deploy on the
city’s busy streets, and partly a way of gathering the data needed to improve
the artificial intelligence that steers it. As one of the earliest such efforts
in Asia, it could help put Taiwan on the map both as a pioneer in autonomous
public transportation and, if things go according to plan, as a manufacturer of
driverless buses.
So far, the bus being tested, called the EZ10, has breezed through its
trials on the campus of National Taiwan University, which have been i娛樂城,n progress
since May.
這类名為EZ10的車型在國立台灣大黉舍园内的测试是從蒲月起頭的，到今朝為止一切顺遂。
But successful testing on a closed course at low speeds can only reveal so
much about how the buses would work in traffic. Getting them on the road at
busy times is the next step, and the program’s backers are eager to see that
happen quickly.
One obstacle: Despite active support from Taipei’s municipal government and
its mayor, Ko Wen-Je, the t斷痔膏，esting has only tacit approval from the central
government, said Wei-Bin Lee, co妹妹issioner of Taipei’s Department of
Information Technology.
“The rest of the world isn’t going to stop and wait for you just because
you’re sputtering along,” he said.
“其他處所不會由于你磕磕绊绊就停下来等你，”他說。
Martin Ting, the general manager of 7StarLake, the Taiwanese company testing
the buses, said in an interview that the EZ10 was suited for three scenarios:
closed campuses, short, fixed circuits and city bus routes.
Such situations abound in Taiwan, which has 23.5 million people and is home
to more than 150 universities and colleges, 100-plus industrial parks and 15
theme parks — as well as densely urbanized northern and western coasts. In
August, the EZ10 began late-night trials on a short stretch of Xinyi Road, a
six-lane artery in downtown Taipei.
“Our ultimate goal is to autonomize the entire Xinyi Road main line,” Mr.
Ko, the mayor, told local media when starting the trials.
“咱们终极的方针是，全部信义干線的公車可以無人化，”柯文哲市长在测试項目启動時對本地媒體說。
The EZ10 is built by the French company EasyMile. It uses GPS and eight
laser sensors to navigate predetermined routes. Front and rear cameras enable
it to detect and avoid obstacles. At $550,000 a unit, including import taxes,
it is nearly twice the price of a larger bus with a driver.
Mr. Ting said he aimed to import three more buses next year and begin
manufacturing them under license from EasyMile by the end of 2018, with the
goal of sourcing half of the components from Taiwanese suppliers. That would
eliminate the 45 percent import tax, saving approximately $200,000 per bus.
Then EasyMile could look hard at other Asian markets, he said.
然後，他說，EasyMile可以好好斟酌一下亚洲其他市場。
“After we’ve started supplying Taiwan, we’re going to sell to Japan,
Australia, China and South Asia,” he said. “Australia already wants 100
vehicles and Japan has strong demand before the 2020 Olympic Games.”
The EZ10, with a top speed of 25 m.p.h., achieves “Level 4” automation
under the standards of the global engineering association S.A.E. International,
meaning its route is chosen by humans but there is no one behind the wheel and it
can avoid obstacles on its own. Tesla’s Autopilot system is considered Level 2,
although Elon Musk, the company’s chief executive, said this year that the
company was only two years away from Level 5: complete autonomy.
But for any level of vehicle autonomy to work, urban infrastructure must be
updated. For example, traffic lights would require special signals to direct
autonomous vehicles.
Then there is the issue of creating three-dimensional maps, and the
computing power needed to use them for detection and navigation. In a dense,
urban environment like Taipei, they must account for the way tall buildings can
distort GPS signals.
“You need to make a map with 99.999 percent accuracy, which is not easy,”
Mr. Ting said. “It takes time and money.”
“你必要绘制切确度高达99.999%的舆圖，這其實不轻易，”丁彦允說。“必要時候和款項。”
He added that processing all of the data would require cloud computing and
a high-speed wireless connection.
他還指出，處置所有這些数据将必要云计较和高速無線收集毗連。
But technological hurdles aside, national lawmakers in Taiwan have
priorities bigger than autonomous vehicles, including a contentious
infrastructure package. And politically, many are cautious to embrace even an
experimental system, knowing that any accident could derail long-term plans.
Nonetheless, the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen has made creating
“smart cities,” which include technology like autonomous vehicles, a national
priority.
“It is time to use our strength in information and co妹妹unication technology
to bolster domestic development,” Ms. Tsai said at a smart city forum in Taipei
in February.
The legislator Jason Hsu, who visited Silicon Valley with Mr. Ting, said
Taiwan could set itself apart, especially in Asia, by focusing on public
transportation with Level 4 vehicles. Many countries in the region are involved
in autonomous vehicle research and development, including China, Mr. Hsu noted.
“The U.S. government is using autonomous vehicles to kick off a whole new
industry centered around data-driven platforms,” he said. “The issue in Taiwan
is that our legislation is lagging behind.”
Mr. Hsu said he would introduce an alliance for smart mobility and
autonomous vehicles on Sept. 26 that would help push the central government on
the issue.
许毓仁說将在9月26日推出一個伶俐交通與無人車成长同盟，帮忙鞭策中心當局解决這一問题。
Unlike California, where Mr. Hsu said 36 companies are permitted to put
autonomous vehicles on the road, Taiwan has not licensed any companies,
including 7StarLake.
“The cars are available but we cannot collect data, which is very dangerous
as the vehicles need data and experience to fine tune their algorithms and
minimize the chance of accident,” he said.
Mr. Lee of kubet,Taipei’s Department of Information Technology said he hoped
Taiwan could turn driverless vehicles into a local industry. That might be
enough to keep talented young Taiwanese from heading to China, where at the
moment there are more opportunities, he said.