The city of Guangzhou published an article via its official WeChat account on Wednesday, saying that the first L4 autonomous driving public bus line was officially put into operation, and that citizens can now book a free test ride. The bus line is "Nansha 23," with a total route length of 8.5 kilometers. It officially commenced operations on January 1, 2022, with daily service hours from 7:00 to 19:00. Within this blue-colored bus, passengers can control the lights and air conditioning through "Xiaoyu," the smart bus voice robot control system. The vehicle is also equipped with professional-level safety personnel, two 64-line LiDARs, 12 high-definition cameras, USB ports and slow brake buttons.

Microsoft Corp's largest research lab for artificial intelligence and internet of things is scheduled to begin operations in Shanghai on May 15, according to a senior company executive. Known as the Microsoft AI&IoT Insider Lab, the facility is expected to help more than 300 corporate clients turn their prototypes into products every year, said Hsiao-Wuen Hon, vice-president of Microsoft and the managing director of Microsoft Research Asia. Located on the "AIsland", a specialized AI hub in the Zhangjiang Science City in Shanghai's Pudong New Area, the lab is designed to deepen the integration of AI and IoT by providing companies with hardware and software assistance as well as cloud and AI solutions. Hon said Shanghai has been a pioneering force in the country's reform and opening-up and has an advantage in the deployment of AI. "Local authorities have been engaged in the discussion of developing AI since a long time ago and Zhangjiang's AI deployment is highly visionary," he said. The US tech giant announced the establishment of its third such lab in Shanghai in January.