On November 6, Xijing Technology launched Qomolo ONE, a cross-scenario unmanned commercial vehicle chassis with power platform and modular functions.
Previously, Xijing Technology had independently developed Q-Truck, a full-time unmanned electric heavy-duty truck, and delivered it for trial operation in port areas in Southeast Asia and Northern Europe.
Qomolo ONE, released this time, follows the concept of Q-Truck which completely removes the driver’s cab, implements modular design, and brings a chassis platform with interchangeable and scalable features. It achieves user-defined scenarios and provides multiple uses for unmanned driving platforms, breaking through scene limitations through innovation.
Witnessed by the on-site audience, Qomolo ONE, initially appeared in the form of an unmanned logistics truck, and in just 6 minutes, it was combined into an unmanned bus with a total length of 14 meters.
Dr. Sun Zuolei, the unmanned driving partner of Xijing Technology, said that the product aimed at the dual demand for cargo and personnel from the beginning of the design. Through the fast skateboard-type loading of the whole vehicle, it brings more flexible adaptation solutions and achieves modular upgradability.
It is worth noting that the maximum speed of Qomolo ONE can reach 85KM/H, covering the driving speed of most scenes. This is also the first time that Xijing Technology’s team has broken through the low-speed scene.
At the same time, Xijing Technology is also building an open and innovative ecology of cooperation, and partners can customize the design and production of upper materials based on Qomolo ONE and user needs, which will be applied to unmanned operating scenarios such as special fire fighting, ore transportation, and mobile offices in the future.
After the press conference, Xijing Technology’s COO Zhang Rong and unmanned driving partner Dr. Sun Zuolei accepted group interviews from multiple media, including “Nine-chapter Intelligent Driving”. The following is a record of the interview (excerpt) –
Reporter: Qomolo is currently developing unmanned port scenarios. Will it expand into the open road heavy truck market in the future?
Zhang Rong: From the perspective of our own development, the first step is still to cover the existing scenes. In fact, Qomolo already has the ability to step into open scenes at the technical level, and our unmanned driving products have already achieved mixed driving with manned driving at multiple ports. The commercialization of closed scene depends on the ability of technology accumulation and product input to serve open scenes. In the future, under the support of laws and regulations, when commercial landing conditions become mature, we do not rule out the possibility of entering the open road market.Journalist: What are the main scenarios for your current customers? Because what I can imagine, this type of function maybe used more frequently in airports. What are the other scenarios?
Zhang Rong: It has been demonstrated in some videos before, for example, personnel transportation at airports is one of our application sectors. In addition, construction sites and firefighting are also potential scenarios for us in the future.
Journalist: I’m curious, because we mainly work overseas, is the vehicle manufactured domestically and then shipped overseas for local engineers to carry out testing and debugging, or is a network system established? I’m curious about how this process is achieved overseas while ensuring cost control.
Zhang Rong: We provide a full-stack solution. Currently, it is exported as a complete vehicle from China to overseas. In the future, if local deliveries are required on a large scale, we will not exclude overseas production or assembly.
Our current delivery method does not require many people to be on-site for manual delivery, as we have developed a standard delivery system. At the system level, we proposed an OTA online system upgrade which can be remotely updated. Of course, this remote system upgrade is only carried out with the client’s permission.
Only a small number of personnel are needed on-site to carry out delivery management, while a powerful back-end team provides remote technical support. This is our current mode of operation. This has little impact on bulk deliveries overseas.
Journalist: Is the platform changing system highly utilized according to customer feedback?
Zhang Rong: The platform changing system helps us have the ability to quickly adapt to different scenarios. For specific clients, frequent changes are not usually necessary because the work environment is relatively stable. Of course, customers can also customize according to their own needs.
For example, in the airport scenario, passengers need to be transported, while there is also a need for cargo transportation. With the platform vehicle, it can be changed into passenger mode when the demand is high, or into cargo transportation mode when the need arises. In this way, we provide customers with more possibilities and better service.
Journalist: Because currently, unmanned vehicles are commonly used in port cargo transportation, and the competition is fierce. What is the core competitive advantage of Xi Jing?
Zhang Rong: For Qomolo’s unmanned driving products, Xi Jing’s core competitive advantage in the port area lies in the overall solution. Xi Jing has always been committed to solving the actual production needs of customers. Under this requirement, we offer different capabilities in different plateaus. For example, we provide a global smart port solution which covers different working processes, including port digital upgrades, levelized transportation upgrades, and intelligent security upgrades.These capabilities were well demonstrated during today’s launch event. We provide not just a single autonomous driving module to our customers, but also an upper layer dispatch management system which is designed to connect our customers’ business systems with the lower-level vehicle transport system. As a result, our customers’ businesses can be presented through our system and dispatched to the vehicle platform for overall transportation. Therefore, what we can help customers with is not just achieving autonomous driving within the port, but rather truly enhancing the overall capability of unmanned and efficient container transport.
Our approach is guided by both market and technology. The two most important directions we adhere to are commercialization and the integration of technology capabilities. Commercialization represents the actual needs of customers. With the dual-track drive, technology can be better grounded.
Journalist: Dr. Sun, you launched this product today. Has your team discussed the potential competitors of this platform internally?
Sun Zuo Lei: Actually, I think any product in any user market will have competitors, but from a user perspective, users only care about two things: whether it can help them improve efficiency and whether it can help them reduce costs. Therefore, competition is normal, and we are not worried about it. We are well-prepared to meet competition.
Journalist: What advantages does the product you launched have compared to other commercial autonomous vehicles? What are the landing forms in China and abroad?
Sun Zuo Lei: Firstly, compared with traditional fuel vehicles, electric vehicles are undoubtedly the trend, so fuel vehicles are no longer within the scope of our discussion today. The Qomolo ONE we launched today is a cross-platform heavy-duty mobile platform, which can be combined with different upper loading compartments, making it flexible to adapt to different scenarios, multi-purpose and capable of mass production and delivery, thus reducing the cost of individual vehicles. In the process of product iteration, we can also focus more on refining and iterating a chassis product.
Most of the unmanned commercial vehicles landed by our counterparts in China have driver’s cabins. In the past two years, we mainly landed overseas due to different starting points in user education. Automation of ports in its primary form has been available overseas since the 1990s, so user education is more mature and acceptance is higher. This is one of the factors that led to the initial landing of unmanned driving scenarios overseas.
However, in the past two years, due to the pandemic, Chinese users have also had a strong demand for unmanned technology. After years of joint efforts by various start-up companies, the education period for domestic users has basically been completed, and they are now beginning to consider landing real unmanned driving. Therefore, I believe that this year is the first year in which unmanned driving is applied in the industry.
Journalist: What is the current composition of the technical team of Westwell Technology?Sun Zuolei: Our current technical team has nearly 340 people, more than 77% of whom are engineers. Among these engineers, over 50% are masters or doctoral degree holders, and most of them have work experience in AI technology research and development.
Reporter: What is Xpeng’s business model for its self-driving platform?
Zhang Rong: Xpeng’s business model is a full-stack solution, providing the entire capability. In terms of the commercial model, in Laem Chabang Port, Thailand, we offer an overall solution, while in Abu Dhabi, we provide a commercial and operational model. The vehicle itself is the product, mainly providing intelligent traffic capabilities, which is part of the overall solution. The Qomolo ONE officially launched today provides a full-stack solution as well.
Reporter: We have just seen that Qomolo ONE can be used in different scenarios, such as public buses or coaches. Will the future business model of Qomolo ONE change?
Zhang Rong: Like Xpeng’s Qomolo business model, Qomolo ONE provides a full-stack solution for managing self-driving fleets, which can be purchased by customers themselves or provided through an operational model.
Reporter: Currently, Xpeng’s scenarios are mainly ports. If it enters other scenarios, such as buses, will you worry about the company’s DNA mismatching? What advantages does Xpeng have compared to other companies?
Zhang Rong: For Qomolo’s self-driving products, Xpeng’s core competitiveness lies in the overall solution. Xpeng has always adhered to solving customers’ actual operational and production needs. Under this requirement, we provide the realization of different capabilities on various plates. For example, we provide a global smart port solution that involves different operations and processes, including digitalized port upgrades, horizontal transportation upgrades, and safe intelligent upgrades.
These capabilities were also demonstrated at today’s press conference. What we provide to customers is not just a single autonomous driving module, but also an upper-level management system that connects the customers’ business systems with our lower-level horizontal transportation vehicles. Therefore, customers’ business can be presented through our system or issued to the vehicle platform for overall transportation. We can help customers improve their overall ability not only in autonomous driving of individual vehicles but also in efficient and automated container hauling.
We insist on a dual-oriented approach guided by the market and technology, with the two most important directions being commercialization and technology. Commercialization represents the actual needs of customers. With the dual-track approach, the technology can be better implemented.## Qomolo ONE’s Potential in Open Scene
Qomolo ONE has already shown its potential in entering open scenes on a technical level. In the future, with support from laws and regulations, when the conditions are ripe for commercialization, it is not impossible for us to enter the open road market.
Reporter: It is generally believed in the industry that commercializing cargo scenes only needs to consider safety and not comfort. As Xijing Technology aims to balance both, won’t that make the product heavy?
Zhang Rong: In terms of comfort, as a heavy-duty autonomous mobile platform with the ability to carry passengers, Qomolo ONE serves some large scenes such as airports and parks when carrying passengers. The overall demand for comfort in such situations is not as high as that of passenger cars used for personal commutes, so there is a difference between the two.
Sun Zuolei: Comfort or not is actually a problem of control and planning adaptation and tuning at the operational level, and does not bring new costs by nature. Smooth driving is also essential for carrying cargo because abrupt acceleration and deceleration can cause the cargo box to slide and the goods to be damaged. Therefore, our R&D efforts to improve driving smoothness and comfort will not create a significant burden.
Zhang Rong: For example, for transporting containers, stability must be guaranteed first. Only when stability is ensured can people feel comfortable. For example, in the case of a very heavy container crossing a container truck during a turn, the stability of the vehicle must be maintained by controlling speed and angle to prevent rollover. These are some of the existing capabilities covered by our current technology.
Reporter: Xijing Technology launched Qomolo ONE when the port work is busy currently. Does this mean that there will be more new customers and orders?
Zhang Rong: Definitely. The reason why Xijing Technology established an autonomous driving team at the end of 2016 and early 2017 was to anticipate the future development direction and challenges of ports. Currently, ports all over the world are affected by the epidemic and facing capacity constraints. This year, we have assisted multiple ports at home and abroad to transform into digital and intelligent ones and have achieved business landing both at home and abroad.
Reporter: Which overseas ports do you mean?
Zhang Rong: Europe, Southeast Asia, and we have started to layout in South America and North America.
Reporter: Currently, it seems that Xijing Technology has more business landing overseas than in China? How is the progress of Chinese business now?
Zhang Rong: This is related to our previous strategic considerations. Initially, we hoped to concentrate our efforts and focus on one or two ports for practical scene landing. As mentioned before, overseas ports have a higher acceptance of unmanned port in general, which is also one of the reasons for earlier landing overseas.Last year, we felt the growing demand for commercialization of unmanned driving in domestic ports. Therefore, we landed an unmanned driving fleet in Xinjiang, and this year we have further breakthroughs by delivering the largest scale unmanned driving fleet in Tianjin. Next, we will also land in Xiamen.
Reporter: Do ports usually purchase individual products or a fleet from you?
Zhang Rong: Xijng Tech provides full-stack solutions. Of course, some ports have different demands, so we have our own technical accumulation in various areas to serve different customer needs.
Reporter: Dr. Sun, regarding the unmanned heavy-duty mobile platform released by Xijng Tech today, do you think this product has potential competitors?
Sun Zuolei: All products have competitors in the user market. Our unmanned Q-Truck has also gone through competition with other companies before landing.
From a user’s perspective, they only care about two core issues: whether it can improve efficiency and reduce costs. Competition is normal, and we are not afraid of it. We believe in being able to solve customer pain points, achieve cost reduction, and increase efficiency. This is the best preparation we can make for competition.
Reporter: What are the advantages of the product you released compared to other unmanned commercial vehicles? What are the landing forms in China and abroad?
Sun Zuolei: Firstly, compared to traditional fuel vehicles, electric vehicles are undoubtedly a big trend, so fuel vehicles are not within the scope of our discussion today. Our Qomolo ONE is a cross-platform heavy-duty mobile platform that can be combined with different loading compartments, so it can flexibly adapt to different scenarios, have multiple uses, and be mass-produced and delivered in batches while reducing unit cost. During product iteration, we can also focus on polishing and iterating a chassis product.
Many competitors in China’s landing unmanned commercial vehicles have driver’s cabins. We mainly landed overseas in the past two years because the starting point of user education is different. The primary form of automation at overseas ports began in the 1990s, so user education is more mature and acceptance is higher. This is one of the factors for our initial landing of unmanned driving scenarios overseas.
However, due to the recent epidemic, domestic users also have a strong demand for unmanned driving. Under the joint efforts of companies in the industry for several years, the education period for domestic users has been basically completed, and users are beginning to consider truly landing unmanned driving.
This year, Xijng Tech, as a fleet management system + unmanned driving participating unit, has helped Tianjin Port put into operation the world’s first “smart zero-carbon” port. In addition, Xijng Tech will also participate in unmanned driving projects in Xiamen.
I believe this year is the first year of unmanned driving in industry applications.Reporter: What is the general time frame for Xijing’s current clients to implement their solutions on the ground?
Zhang Rong: The implementation time frame is related to project requirements and delivery scale. Xijing is one of the fastest and most capable companies in the industry for delivering projects at scale. Specifically, based on our current delivery capacity, it takes about half a year from initial engagement with the client to final operation. If affected by the epidemic, delivery times may vary.
Xijing can provide full-stack solutions or modular services based on the client’s actual needs, allowing for a “light launch” of their smart transformation. For example, the “autonomous vehicle commercial operation” mode that landed in Abu Dhabi Port reduced the client’s upfront procurement costs and can accelerate the rapid deployment of autonomous driving products.
Reporter: If this new product is to hit the road, is it in compliance with national laws and regulations?
Zhang Rong: Our goal today is still to achieve real commercial implementation in a closed scenario, and solidify our ability to move towards an open road. For the use of unmanned driving products on open roads, the laws and regulations in various regions are still constantly developing and changing. Currently, they are only open to specific roads, which is too small a scale for a large-scale commercial implementation of unmanned driving products. We will continue to dig deep in closed scenarios, accumulate a wealth of experience, and continuously iterate solutions. Xijing will continue to develop open-scenario solutions that can move towards daily transportation, further improving people’s lives with AI and unmanned driving technology. At a suitable time and with sound laws and regulations, we will choose to move towards commercial implementation on open roads. This is the direction we have chosen.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.