UNMANNED sanitation vehicles have been put into trial use in Pingshan District to improve efficiency and help reduce potential safety risks faced by sanitation workers, according to a Shenzhen Economic Daily report.

The self-driving sanitation vehicles can not only avoid barriers, distinguish traffic lights and pull up automatically, but also deliver real-time monitoring to allow operators to stay updated on the vehicles’ status and take timely action if needed.

Pingshan has been promoting the pilot application of unmanned sanitation vehicles since the beginning of this year. At present, two large driverless sanitation vehicles are being tested on Pingshan Boulevard, Hekang Road and Lanzhu West Road.

Additionally, smaller unmanned sweepers have been introduced on roads including the greenway of Pingshan Central Park and Liwucun, an urban village in Shijing Subdistrict, according to the report.

In its efforts to create a smart management model, Pingshan has adopted advanced technologies such as the Internet of Things, cloud computing, mobile internet, and geographic information system (GIS). These technologies enable real-time monitoring of information terminals and provide intelligent supervision.

To further enhance monitoring capabilities, Pingshan has equipped its fleet of 240 large-scale sanitation vehicles with the BeiDou satellite positioning system for real-time video monitoring and accurate recording of routes, as well as vehicle status and speed throughout the district.

(Liang Dazhi, Wang Jingli)