"Over 81% of Panda Expressway consists of bridges and tunnels, making it one of China's key smart transportation infrastructure projects," says Cui Jisheng, General Manager of XCMG Road Machinery. "Enhancing road quality and safety through efficient construction and reduced cost were key priorities in our collaboration to develop an autonomous road roller. Our success here shows great promise for the technology's industrialization, and will accelerate the development of smart transport infrastructure."

Before setting out and before the test began, a remote monitoring data center first identified the optimal route and process. Instructions were then transmitted to the onboard control system, enabling the road roller to operate autonomously under complex conditions, with a precision of 2-3cm.

The self-driving road roller is equipped with various safety measures and a real-time monitoring system which can sound warnings, conduct an emergency stop, enter and exit sites automatically and avoid obstacles.

In 2018, XCMG signed a strategic agreement with the Sichuan Railway Investment Group and Tsinghua University to deepen their cooperation in the field of autonomous road construction. Since then, the three parties have applied for nine domestic patents, namely three for inventions and six for utility models and technology.

With this achievement, the partnership will continue, focusing on the R&D and implementation of smart transportation development strategies and the development of mobile 5G communications base stations.