China’s Autonomous Driving to Have “Maps” to Rely on by 2025

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) — China will take the lead in formulating urgently needed key standards for intelligent vehicle basic maps, with an initial map standard system to support autonomous driving expected to be established by 2025.

The Ministry of Natural Resources publicly released the Guidelines for the Construction of the Intelligent Vehicle Basic Map Standard System (2023 Edition) on the 7th. This document sets out guiding principles for the standardization of intelligent vehicle basic maps in areas such as basic common standards, production and updating, application services, quality inspection, and security management. It emphasizes promoting the coordinated development of intelligent vehicle basic maps and geospatial information with sectors like automotive, information and communication, electronics, transportation, information security, and cryptography, gradually forming an intelligent vehicle basic map standard system that meets the development needs of China's technology and industry.

High-definition maps serve as the "eyes" of autonomous driving. The Guidelines propose taking the lead in formulating more than 10 urgently needed key standards for intelligent vehicle basic maps. These will cover technical requirements and specifications such as basic common standards, data acquisition, dynamic updating, data distribution, exchange formats, and security protection related to various intelligent terminal data, thereby addressing the urgent demands of deep application of intelligent vehicle basic maps. By 2025, an intelligent vehicle basic map standard system capable of supporting automotive driving automation applications will be initially established.

According to the Guidelines, by 2030, China will have formed a relatively complete intelligent vehicle basic map standard system. Nationwide, more than 20 standards for intelligent vehicle basic maps will be formulated, covering technical requirements and specifications in areas such as data production, application services, quality inspection, and map review. These will guide and promote the safe and compliant application of intelligent vehicle basic maps in China, providing standards support for the technological development and industrial implementation in related fields such as intelligent vehicles, intelligent transportation, safe travel, and new-type smart cities.

The Ministry of Natural Resources stressed the need to fully implement the holistic view of national security, accurately grasp the relationship between developing the intelligent vehicle industry and safeguarding national security, and establish a unified, complete, and standardized intelligent vehicle basic map standard system at the national level. This will better promote technological innovation and industrial transformation and upgrading of intelligent vehicle basic maps, and provide normative guidance and fundamental support for the safe and compliant application of intelligent vehicle basic maps, as well as the healthy and orderly development of China's intelligent vehicle industry.