InnoVEX exhibition topics will include AI, IoT, Mobility, AR/VR, and Startup Ecosystems. TCA Director General Du Quan-chang stated that “in 2017 we will continue our collaboration with 7Starlake and expand the number of forums and presentations on the themes of future transportation and driverless vehicles. We will also continue to promote the development of Taiwan's driverless vehicles industry, and we anticipate that driverless vehicles will soon be on the roads in Taiwan.”

French vehicle company Navya is optimistic about the demand for green smart vehicles in the Greater China region, and Navya Vice President Henri Coron stated that “Navya has invested over ten years into the development of important technologies for driverless vehicles. To date we have completed over ten thousand kilometers of road tests and made over three thousand passenger trips. If this kind of green smart transportation enters the Greater China region, reliable cooperation partners with technologies will be needed to jointly promote it, and 7Starlake is an important collaboration team that we have hand picked.”

Velodyne LiDar is a 3D laser radar manufacturer with an important radar sensor that Navya has selected to use. Velodyne LiDar and 7Starlake are strategic partners for driverless vehicles. Velodyne LiDAR Asia Regional Director Weng Wei said, “Due to Velodyne LiDAR's instant and efficient 3D, it has the highest performance for the recognition of road conditions, objects, and buildings. In addition, we are going a step further and developing our own SLAM mapping technology and artificial learning to precisely control the movements of driverless vehicles on roads.”

Kaohsiung City has specially expressed support for a Group Rapid Transit (GRT) driverless vehicle system. Transportation Bureau, Kaohsiung City Government Deputy Director-general Zhang Shu-juan stated that next year Kaohsiung will host the “EcoMobility World Festival 2017” for world-class cities and evaluate trial operations of arma driverless shuttle buses.

(TR/ Phil Sweeney)