HUAWEI Technologies Co. will utilize its 5G technologies to develop radars for self-driving cars, its deputy chairman told a conference, as the Shenzhen-based company looks to play a bigger role in the auto industry.

Huawei will build an “ecosystem” of car-equipped sensors, Xu Zhijun, current holder of the company’s rotating chairmanship, told a Beijing conference on intelligent connected vehicles Tuesday.

Huawei will utilize its 5G technologies to develop millimeter-wave radar and laser radar, Xu said, without providing a timeframe for development of the products.

Global carmakers and tech companies have spent billions of dollars on vehicles that can drive autonomously.

Industry insiders, however, note it will take years before the industry achieves “Level 4,” or fully autonomous standards, in which such vehicles can handle all aspects of driving in most circumstances with no human intervention.

Millimeter-wave radar and laser radar sensors are used by self-driving vehicle manufacturers to collect information from a vehicle’s surroundings.

Huawei’s move comes as China makes a major push to develop self-driving vehicles.

(SD-Agencies)