China-led int'l standard on audio signal sensors for autonomous driving released

An international standard on audio signal sensors for autonomous driving led by China was officially released recently, giving a boost to the safety of autonomous driving.

The standard fills a global gap in the field of audio signal sensor interfaces for autonomous driving and will equip vehicles with standardized "ears," effectively enhancing driving safety in complex traffic scenarios.

"Audio signals are a core element in a vehicle's perception of its environment. The audio sensors in an autonomous driving system function much like the ears of a human driver. They can detect audio signals, effectively giving the system 'hearing,' which greatly enhances its ability to anticipate and respond to complex environments. Therefore, establishing a scientific and unified audio interface standard is of great significance for accurately evaluating and improving the safety of autonomous driving," said Chen Chen, a senior engineer at China National Institute of Automotive Standardization.

The standard explicitly relies on multiple types of audio algorithms to detect and identify all categories of acoustic signals, covering various sound sources, including sirens from special-purpose vehicles such as police cars, fire trucks, and ambulances; road environmental noise such as wind noise, rain and hail; external warning sounds such as surrounding vehicle horns, collisions and reverse parking alerts; sounds generated by the vehicle itself, such as the engine, brakes, and horn; as well as sounds related to other road users.

"Before an autonomous driving system identifies priority vehicles like ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars, through visual signals, it can rely on their sirens to determine the direction and distance of the target sound source in advance, thereby responding to these vehicles. For example, when a vehicle encounters an ambulance in autonomous driving mode, it can rely on a fusion of acoustic and visual perception to give way to the ambulance," said Chen.

The release and implementation of the standard unifies the acoustic interface for autonomous driving, providing autonomous driving algorithms with standardized "auditory" signals.

This will accelerate the iteration of related products and offer greater safeguards for driving safety in complex scenarios.

China-led int'l standard on audio signal sensors for autonomous driving released

Medical treatment and support work are going smoothly at the Sog County People's Hospital in the vicinity of Baqen County in the city of Nagqu in southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region that was hit by a powerful earthquake on Thursday.

Some of the injured people in Maru Township and Gangqie Township of Baqen County were transferred to the hospital, which is about 57 kilometers away from the epicenter.

The hospital has sufficient medical supplies and living necessities.

"All the medical staff in our hospital are working together to provide treatment for the injured. Those who need to be hospitalized are hospitalized, and those who need observation are under observation. We also provide round-the-clock food services for the family members," said nurse Kunsang.

"We have been working around the clock since last night, and more patients have been coming in," said hospital official Rinchen Drolma.

Besides offering effective treatment, medical workers have also been giving psychological support to the injured and their family members.

"The medical workers and police officers helped us reach here. The foods are great, and the hospital is taking good care of the patients. Now my child has received a comprehensive examination and his condition has stabilized," said Pug Rayul, father of an injured kid.

"We are from Maru Township, and the ambulance took us here from the quake-hit area. Medical staff come every half an hour to check if our blood pressures and other data are normal. They also prepared bedding and other daily necessities for us," said Namchoe Gya, family member of an injured resident.

A local of Sog County brought free foods to the patients at the hospital Friday morning.

"I brought more than 100 servings of Tibetan noodle, as well as Tibetan tea and tsampa. I prepared all these myself. I feel very happy to be able to help others," said Norbu Wangchen, the local.

At least 16 people were killed and 76 others were injured after the quake jolted Baqen County at 22:33 Beijing time (1433 GMT) on Thursday.

Post-quake medical treatment goes smoothly at county hospital in Xizang