China to Re-Write Standards for Cars of the Future
 
Jun 22, 2017
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Those in the field of automatic research, innovation, and engineering will now be looking to China when it comes to the cars of the future. The country is intent on drawing up brand new standards when it comes to internet-connected smart cars and cars that are able to offer autonomous driving. No longer does this kind of technology only seem possible in the far off future thanks to China's goal to formulate a minimum of 30 new sets of standards by the year 2020.

Where to Look for Inspiration

It’s not just the automotive sector here in the United States that is carefully watching what China is developing, but also those enrolled in a masters degree in civil engineering. Schools such as Ohio University are well-known for their online civil engineering degree program and students are now getting an idea of what they will need to achieve in order to be competitive with China in the future. It’s no longer just about standing out here at home. Rather, it is about standing out in a global field.

What to Expect in the New Standards

China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology released the statement regarding its goal of 30 new sets of standards just this past week. Within the release, additional information was given on just what these sets will include. Things such as information safety, function safety, auxiliary controls, human to machine interfaces, information interaction, and information recognition were all cited.

What may be even more surprising is that the goal doesn’t end in 2020. There is an even bigger goal that China has set where it aims to release a whopping 100 new standards by the year 2025. There is a push to support "high-level autonomous driving" by that point, so these additional standards will all become necessary. By the year 2025, China wants to see 80% of new cars in the country offering driving assistance of some sort.

So why the push to create and release all these new standards? It’s simple really – China is looking to take the lead in the automotive innovation and technology segment of the market. The country has the desire to be more competitive in the industry and it views smart cars as being the way to do so.

In order to help push the process forward, a new alliance has been formed called the China Industry Innovation Alliance for the Intelligent and Connected Vehicles. Within the alliances are top technology companies and the major automakers.

Of course, this is all part of the bigger "Made in China 2025" initiative that is taking place across all sectors of information, technology, and manufacturing in the country.

Competition Ahead for Automakers around the World

As China pushes ahead with its plans to not only innovate but become a leader in high-tech automobile offerings, it looks as though the rest of the world will need to see some lofty and big goals of its own if it hopes to keep up or even pull ahead of China’s lead.