Vision outlined in Wuhan of smart, sharing city

The technical center of auto giant Dongfeng Motor Corporation on Sept 30 unveiled its vision of a smart, sharing metropolis -- including a raft of high-tech unmanned services -- in Wuhan city.

The sweeping presentation was made in the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone -- also known as the WHDZ -- located in Wuhan, capital of Central China's Hubei province.

Officials from the Dongfeng Motor Corporation Technical Center said that in this "smart city" scenario, there will be a comprehensive range of unmanned and cutting-edge services serving residents.

In addition to unmanned cars on the roads, there will be unmanned cafes, unmanned supermarkets, unmanned hospitals, unmanned restaurants, just to name a few.

They said that under the scenario, all these functions can be accessed on the Sharing-VAN unmanned minibus launched by Dongfeng Motor Corporation.

For example, the Sharing-VAN can be transformed into a mobile restaurant. After customers order food on their mobile phones, the Sharing-VAN will drive to a designated place and the customers can have meals in the car.

Sharing-VANs will be dispatched to designated places, confirmed by customers, so the customers can be transported to their desired destinations.

The city of Wuhan is set to develop a national, new generation artificial intelligence (AI) innovation development pilot zone, after gaining the approval of the Ministry of Science and Technology on Sept 4.

Under Wuhan's Plan for Building a National New Generation Artificial Intelligence Innovation and Development Pilot Zone, the city will construct the zone based on its advantages in scientific and technological resources, industrial foundations and AI applications.

Officials said the city will strengthen research and development of cutting-edge AI technologies and core technologies.

This will be in areas including smart chips, intelligent connected vehicles and network security -- and it will promote the deep integration of AI with the real economy, smart cities and people's livelihoods.

Meanwhile, Dongfeng Motor Corporation Technical Center on Sept 30 also led the establishment of the Sharing-X seamless mobile service industry cooperative alliance, according to local media reports.