Malaysia is aiming to achieve Level 3 autonomous driving capability by 2030, and the government has urged the automotive industry to begin preparing for the transition. According to deputy minister of investment, trade and industry Sim Tze Tzin, while the country has not started looking at the topic, there was a need to do so, as The Edge reports.
“I think this is where the conversation needs to begin because we are still too focused on manufacturing traditional vehicles, while Malaysia has yet to seriously start discussing autonomous driving, which is something I intend to push for,” he said, adding that the Malaysia Automotive, Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii) would be tasked with the groundwork for the initiative.
He said that because autonomous driving would require major changes across multiple sectors, including semiconductor design, software development, sensor manufacturing and infrastructure upgrades, the country is also looking to position local companies as suppliers of chips, sensors and software linked to autonomous driving systems.
“Autonomous driving involves significant changes across the entire ecosystem. Car manufacturing will require more chips, software and sensors. Our local vendors will need to upgrade their capabilities,” he said. He added that local authorities and the public works department (JKR) must also improve road conditions and supporting infrastructure, including road signs and related facilities, because it was an effort requiring the involvement of everyone.
Citing the rapid growth of autonomous driving in the United States, where the technology has expanded from about four cities last year to around 40 this year, with 60 more cities expected next year, Sim said the technology would eventually get here, and Malaysia must be ready for it.
As such, he said industry players have to begin planning beyond current automotive technologies and prepare for future mobility trends. “While we are working hard to catch up with today’s technology, we must not lose sight of what is coming next. I believe the true future of mobility is autonomous driving. If we focus only on today, we will always be chasing others. But if we start building the foundation for autonomous technology now, Malaysia can lead the region,” he said.
As defined by SAE International, autonomous driving is classified on a scale of Level 0, where the driver controls all functions, to Level 5, which represents full driverless capability in all conditions. Level 3 automation allows a vehicle to drive itself in specific conditions, but the driver must remain alert and be ready to take over control of the vehicle when required.
Programmes exploring the tech have come about in the past, but primarily from a pilot on-road evaluation viewpoint. Back in November 2020, the government defined its first autonomous vehicle test routes on public roads in Cyberjaya, with approval coming a month later in December. eMoovit Technology was the first company to receive approval for use of the routes for its autonomous vehicle testbed.
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too aggresive for a third world country
Prepare what?! Industry always prepare! but they are not prepare by MITI SCAM and SURPRISES ROTI CANAI FLIP
by that time you become opposition already, barking around in parliament with no effect, like now.
yes, rakyat deserves better ride, tech and comfort.
rotflmao tribal species motorcyclists will be mow down clear from public roads
lvl 3, lvl 4 so wat? still cannot sleep in the car for auto pilot while trafic jams. then wat for paying so much for unnecessary features? or kang tao banyak? collect higher tax?
please kindly focus and enforce penalties to motorcyclists from all over the roads and directions freely first before talking about these nonsense.
And also focus on road marking that mostly dissappear!! And also put more road sign. Stop planting tree near junction. Get the basic done before talking other things lah!!!
>Our local vendors will need to upgrade their capabilities
this clown said this but his policy literally doing the exact opposite, limiting competition in market segments that matter the most!
Indirectly encouraging local brand and vendors to keep milking malaysian with their dogshit outdated tech. make it make sense!
everyday free clown shows from ministry of clowns kek
Bwahahaha, this clown. The CC on Perodua for instance is total dog feces. While on Proton its barely bearable. You put giant red icebergs infront of AP franchisees to protect your kawan but now you also want them to “prepare”? They should prepare to clobber your knucklehead with a 1T EV battery instead.
pusing, u-turn, pusing, u-turn, lastly masuk longkang
This side says to target Level 3 autonomous driving (Available mainly in EVs due to easy integration of electronics). Another side says fuel subsidies is killing the economy. Yet another side creating obstacles for affordable EV to be made available.
Comes 2050, our country will still talking about the same thing, nothing changed except different asses with the same shit in skull, sitting on the same MITI chair.
Looking at the Miti Policy like roti canai, banyak pusing pusing, will later the autonomos driving also pusing pusing masuk longkang?
Syiok sendiri cakap cakap for press coverage
Lay off the crack pipe lah sim
Lane splitting must be outlawed for full self-driving to even be a consideration, this is just a fact and a limitation of the system. The system can only operate within the confines of limited possibilities, but our motorcyclists break that assumption.
mabuk ke
Stop embarassed the country. Everyone is having their autopilot running and collecting data already while MITI asking the industry to prepare? By 2030, bunch of lympo already got fired and changed and move the autopilot to 2035.
Fix all the damn pot holes and build nicer road like Japan, Korea and China. Basic and essentials needs also can’t provide and wanted to provide something is impossible for a third world country.
This means those hoping for Full Self Driving (TESLA FSD)can just hope and pray that in 2030 government will permit its operation in Malaysia. Really keen on the brand for this feature after trying this out. However, the inept government of the day keeps enriching the cronies and treating its citizens like beggars.
Industry players to prepare? Can you first ask Mr Lok to stop focusing on selling number plates and improve our road safety and design? The current condition with ill design roads and poor signage, and motoris that dont follow rules, no amount of tech can compensate that.
no wonder u call urself sohai! coz u dont know JPJ & JKR task!