In December 2021, Autowise.ai announced that it will collaborate with the Nanjing Traffic Operation Management Group to deploy and test two V12 autonomous sweepers in the Yingtian Tunnel and the Dinghuaimen Tunnel. The test marked the first time an autonomous vehicle was used for sweeping operations in tunnels.

When the two Autowise V12 sweepers were deployed, there was several challenges that had to be overcome to ensure the operation went smoothly.

In an underground or enclosed area with weak network signals, a time delay may occur when data is transferred from LiDARs to the computing system. In the Nanjing project, Autowise.ai engineers worked tirelessly to develop a solution that allowed the Autowise V12 to transmit data at lower network signals by creating new operational algorithms and adding new pinpoints in the HD map for vehicle identification. Based on the new algorithms and map upgrades, the autonomous sweepers showed  improved performances in areas of mapping and positioning. The algorithms helped to improve traffic detection, obstacle, and pedestrian recognition. The autonomous sweepers satisfied the tunnel sweeping requirements set out by the Nanjing Traffic Operation Management Group by covering a distance of 8,000km safely at a total of 1,600 operation hours in the tunnels.

Autowise.ai is commmited to developing and deploying more autonomous sweepers in coordination with Nanjing Traffic Operation Management Group on road around Nanjing.

In addition, based on the success of the project , Autowise.ai are expanding their offerings to include retrofitting and R&D services for sweepers in Nanjing city.