Xiaoyu 2.0: the outlook of future public transportation has been redefined

Witnessed by masses of media groups on 25th June, Yutong announced its latest autonomous and driverless bus, Xiaoyu 2.0, wins the German Red Dot Award 2021 at its grand media conference held in Yutong R&D Campus, which inaugurated a new chapter of vehicle manufacturing in the industry.

Photo 1: Yutong's Media Conference & Award Ceremony

Made completely by machinery robots, this 5-meter L4 automatic driving vehicle is particularly futuristic. The fluorescence of light blue and the shape of the sleek cuboid form a strong sense of technology. Armored with large windows at each side, adequate light is taken in, which provides passengers incredible panoramic view from inside.

Photo 2: Xiaoyu 2.0 Autonomous Bus Model

Xiaoyu 2.0 has a dimension of 5500 × 2060 × 2700(mm), which has a high requirement for a sophisticated design and optimization of structure & engineering to guarantee that the passengers are not crowded in a narrow space while taking the autonomous bus. Soft and brown leather seats are adopted to outstand the interior curves and improve the design aesthetics. Battery, Engine, and other mechanical equipment are dexterously zipped into the backside of the front seats and back seats, where the space is really limited. This minibus can maximumly serve 10 passengers, though space is evidently enough to contain more than 10 passengers. It is restricted because passengers are not allowed to stand up in traveling.

Photo 3: Xiaoyu 2.0 (Rear)

Undoubtedly, this advanced autonomous bus is entirely powered by electricity. Each charge will enable the bus to travel around in a range of 100-150 km. And it takes at most 2 hours to get the bus fully charged. The highest automatic driving speed is limited to 30km/h for security concerns whereas top speed can go up to 50 km/h. Automatic charging is well realized. Other functions like intelligent dispatching, autonomous parking and other unmanned operation visualization management are also achieved, which greatly improves travel efficiency and public transport travel experience. Meanwhile, the face recognition system is installed and upgraded, which can be applied in bus-on-demand services or other customized services.

Photo 4: Xiaoyu 2.0 (Side)

(To view more about how Xiaoyu 2.0 runs on the public road, please check with Paul and his YouTube channel. A video of the test driving trip in the public area is uploaded)

Concerning the actual operation effect, on March 28, 2019, Yutong L4 automatic driving microcirculation bus, Xiaoyu 1.0, already made its first debut at Boao Forum in Hainan province, and launched its connection service demonstration operation. During that period, Xiaoyu received more than 200 guests from different countries, which surprised many public media. Besides, the driverless bus was put into trial operation persistently from May 17, 2019. Till now, the accumulated safe operation is more than 50,000 km, with 0 traffic accidents. Yutong’s autonomous products received more than 35,000 person-times safely, highly praised by provincial and municipal leaders, social organizations, and passengers. With Xiaoyu 2.0 put into service publicly, nowadays, Yutong’s autonomous bus can take passengers everywhere safely in the city of Zhengzhou, where Yutong's Headquater is located. However, the range is still restricted within the new residential district, with an area of 2,600,000 km², to serve the public according to the local policy

Currently, Yutong’s autonomous bus is allowed to be applied in Liwan District, where the Covid-19 Delta was found to be spreading severely in the past month. You might capture such footage on news and TV that Xiaoyu 2.0 automatically delivers residents’ food and other necessities to people in the lockdown area.

Photo 5: Xiaoyu 2.0 Development Team

When it comes to the question that how long does it take for Yutong to obtain the complete operation license and the qualification certificate of the fully-open running of the Xiaoyu bus series, Yutong’s think tank agreed that it is prospective and hopeful in the following 3-5 years.

Another insightful question asked at Yutong's media conference is what would be the future development of the Xiaoyu autonomous bus. Yutong think tanks hold a consensus view that Xiaoyu 3.0 is assured to be more creative, aesthetic, powerful, humanized, and Promethean in defining the future bus shape and design, whilst the core function and client’s needs are already largely satisfied by Xioayu 2.0.

In a section of the panel discussion during the conference, Yutong's think tanks shared their design concept of Xiaoyu 2.0 and the story about how their creative design drives their R&D. As their saying, their team spent plenty of time downsizing the bus’s engine and operating system to reach this future and smart styling with the integration of high-quality interior decoration, and immersive intelligence.

Follow that brand story, Yutong announced the soliciting activity of design schemes in the conference at the same time, with the intent of collaborating with world-class design masters to create forward-thinking, cyberpunk-style, and feasible conceptual Xiaoyu 3.0. This is very exciting news as it gives public, or say, worldwide passengers an opportunity to define their ideal future public transportation and bring them alive. It is definitely one of the most anticipated activities of the year and Yutong really sets big suspense there.