Designed and built by Enchi Auto, this self-driving EV bus was unveiled at a special launch event held at the company’s manufacturing plant in the city of Huzhou in Zhejiang Province, China, on April 22. Hundreds of government officials, customers, partners, and media were in attendance.
The bus is equipped with a VIA Mobile360 system that our engineers customized to meet the specific usage requirements of the vehicle. For the installation, the team enabled the integration of four surround view cameras for capturing a full 360-degree view of the bus and showing its real-time location on the bus’s internal display.
To boost on-road safety and ensure a smoother ride, the team also added a single ADAS camera to the front of the bus supporting Forward Collision Warning, Lane Departure Warning, and Speed Limit Detection features.
In addition to the five cameras, the Enchi self-driving EV bus is also equipped with LIDAR sensors to aid navigation and ensure that it avoids collisions. The data from these sensors is fed into the VIA Mobile360 system over a CAN bus interface and displayed on a screen at the front of the vehicle along with the image data captured from the cameras.
To facilitate the viewing of this data on the screen, the team created an attractive graphical user interface showing the real-time location and status of the bus and its key components.
At a glance you can see whether the door is open or closed, whether the brakes are in use, whether the bus is turning, and the speed at which it is traveling. If the bus deviates from the its lane, the lines on each side of the blue bus icon will flicker and the vehicle will automatically correct its course. In the same way, the screen will highlight when the bus is turning or when an object appears in front of the vehicle and tracks the bus’s progress as it slows down to let the vehicle or person pass and then speeds ups once the road is clear again.
The self-driving EV bus promises to revolutionize urban transportation not just in China but also throughout the world by increasing passenger safety, minimizing environmental impact, and reducing overall costs. We are extremely honored and excited to be working with Enchi Auto to ensure that driverless EV buses become a reality.
VIA Mobile360 systems include a wide variety of safety-enhancing solutions that alert drivers to constantly-changing road variables under a wide array of conditions to make their journey as safe and efficient as possible. With their ruggedized designs that have been optimized for the most demanding on-road and off-road conditions, VIA Mobile360 systems are ideal for a wide variety of applications ranging from freight transportation & delivery to buses and coaches.
If you would like to learn more about how we can customize the system to meet your needs, please feel free to contact us.
