Unmanned vehicles are now up and running in Kangbashi district of Ordos city, providing smarter and more convenient forms of urban transportation.

The first batch of unmanned buses was put into operation in the district in May.

In late September, unmanned taxis operated by SDIC Ordos New Energy Development and Application Co started trial operations here.

Unlike traditional taxis that can be hailed with a wave of the hand, unmanned taxis have fixed pick-up and drop-off points.

Currently, the open pick-up and drop-off points in Kangbashi are mainly concentrated between Ordos Street and Wulanmulun Street, and between Tianjiao Road and Minzu Road, for a total of 42 locations.

They will be further expanded and ultimately achieve full district coverage.

In addition to their stylish appearance, these unmanned taxis are bolstered by an array of sensors, including their surrounding LIDAR sensors, supplemental LIDAR "antennae" on the sides of the vehicles, and high-precision cameras both inside and outside.

Through these sensors, they can achieve 360-degree, 200-meter straight line distance perception without any blind spots.

These sensors help each vehicle acquire real-time 3D information about its surrounding environment, so it can recognize and assess road conditions, including the position and speed of vehicles, pedestrians, and other obstacles, effectively improving the safety performance of unmanned cars.

Currently, there are three unmanned taxis in Kangbashi district.

Users only need to log into the mobile app "Nuancheng Zhixing," select their departure point and destination, and the vehicle will arrive.

According to policy requirements, unmanned taxis in Kangbashi must be equipped with a safety officer.

Despite there being a safety officer in the main driver's seat, the steering wheel turns automatically, and the vehicle starts immediately after picking up passengers.

"We are currently in the testing phase but within one to two years we will achieve purely unmanned driving without the need for a safety officer on board," said an engineer at the intelligent connected project who gave his name as Huhemanda.

Though the vehicles are self-driving, at the dispatch center's back-end operation management platform staff can view vehicle routes, speeds and running status in real time, as well as order statistics and user feedback information.

"Around the National Day holiday, unmanned taxis served over 900 passengers, with each taxi taking about 16 orders per day. Due to their novelty and convenience, they have received unanimous praise from passengers," Huhemanda added.