The highest-speed test to date of a self-driving car developed by the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI, 工研院) was successfully conducted at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport Wednesday, ITRI said Thursday.
The self-driving shuttle, which drove at 50 kilometers per hour, is part of a four-year project to develop autonomous shuttles for the country’s international airports, ITRI said, adding that it is to invest “at least NT$5 billion” into the project.
Photo: CNA
This week’s test drive reached a speed record that was the fastest achieved to date by a self-driving car in Taiwan, and second worldwide only to shuttles operating at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, Arizona, Department of Industrial Technology Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) said.
The shuttle is being run on a 4.2km circuit, and is assisted by 5G-connected safety systems, he said.
“In the future, higher-speed self-driving will be implemented on open roads such as expressways or highways. ” he said.
“There have already been 15 test cases on open roads in Taiwan.”
Future challenges to implementing widespread autonomous driving included the implementation of relevant regulations, and devising technical solutions to more complicated road conditions, he said, adding that 5G-connected smart technology at intersections would improve the safety of self-driving vehicles.
A Keelung high school on Saturday night apologized for using a picture containing a Chinese flag on the cover of the senior yearbook, adding that it has recalled the books and pledged to provide students new ones before graduation on Thursday. Of 309 Affiliated Keelung Maritime Senior High School of National Taiwan Ocean University graduates, 248 had purchased the yearbook. Some students said that the printer committed an outrageous error in including the picture, while others said that nobody would notice such a small flag on the cover. Other students said that they cared more about the photographs of classmates and what was
GOING INTERNATIONAL: Rakuten Girls squad leader Ula Shen said she was surprised that baseball fans outside of Taiwan not only knew of them, but also knew their names Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland Athletics on Saturday hosted its first Taiwanese Heritage Day event at the Oakland Coliseum with a performance by Taiwanese cheerleading squad the Rakuten Girls and a video message from Vice President William Lai (賴清德). The Rakuten Girls, who are the cheerleaders for the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys, performed in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 people, followed by a prerecorded address by Lai about Taiwan’s baseball culture and democratic spirit. Taiwanese pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸), who was signed by the Athletics earlier this year, was also present. Mizuki Lin (林襄), considered a “baseball cheerleading goddess” by Taiwanese
WAY OF THE RUKAI: ‘Values deemed worthy often exist amid discomfort, so when people go against the flow, nature becomes entwined with our lives,’ a student said “Run, don’t walk” after your dreams, Nvidia cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) told National Taiwan University (NTU) graduates yesterday, as several major universities held in-person graduation ceremonies for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. “What will you create? Whatever it is, run after it. Run, don’t walk. Remember, either you’re running for food, or you are running from becoming food. Oftentimes, you can’t tell which. Either way, run,” he said. Huang was one of several tech executives addressing graduating students at Taiwanese universities. National Chengchi University held two ceremonies, with alumnus Patrick Pan (潘先國), who is head of Taiwan
A 14-legged giant isopod is the highlight of a new dish at a ramen restaurant in Taipei and it has people lining up — both for pictures and for a bite from this bowl of noodles. Since “The Ramen Boy” launched the limited-edition noodle bowl on Monday last week, declaring in a social media post that it had “finally got this dream ingredient,” more than 100 people have joined a waiting list to dine at the restaurant. “It is so attractive because of its appearance — it looks very cute,” said the 37-year-old owner of the restaurant, who wanted to be
RSS