China Is Becoming A Hotbed For Autonomous Vehicle Technology

The melting pot that is the PRC's auto industry is evolving into a hotbed of driverless vehicle development as startups and established manufacturers throw their resources toward the auto industry's current holy grail.

The New York Times has a profile of one of the newest and most notable, Uisee Technology. Formed by a former Intel engineering manager, the company is planning to bring a tech demonstrator to the 2017 Consumer Electronics Show. But Uisee is just one of a greater range of autonomous vehicle companies in the PRC.

See, China is a prime candidate for driverless cars. It's crippled by major metropolitan congestion and sky-darkening pollution, both of which can be reduced through liberal use of autonomous vehicles. In fact, the Chinese government is actually funding autonomous research and development, supporting search-engine Baidu, as it works to develop autonomous buses.

The Times reports Chinese citizens could be more receptive than their American counterparts, too. Because the automotive culture in the PRC has had so much less time to develop, it hasn't romanticized the automobile as much. This lack of connection, evidenced by China's love of chauffeur-driven vehicles, makes it a natural candidate for wide-spread adoption of driverless cars.

You can read up on China's embrace of autonomous vehicles and the cutting-edge work of Uisee over on The Gray Lady's website.