Hanoi vice-chairman takes first ride in self-driving car

The trial took place following a ceremony at the park where the municipal administration granted approval for controlled testing, or a sandbox, of new technologies in the capital.

At the event, Phenikaa-X JSC was awarded permission to pilot an intelligent autonomous transportation system comprising self-driving buses, robotaxis, autonomous cleaning robots and delivery robots.

The municipal administration also granted Mining Technology and Construction Consultancy JSC permission to conduct a controlled pilot for the production of mixed rare-earth oxides with a purity of more than 95 percent.

Speaking at the ceremony, vice-chairman Dung asked the municipal Department of Science and Technology and relevant agencies to conduct monthly or quarterly assessments of the pilot projects.

Any difficulties should be addressed promptly, with policies adjusted when necessary.

Once the pilot period ends, participating firms will be required to identify technologies that are ready for commercialization, propose the technical standards and regulations needed for their deployment, and highlight existing rules that need to be removed or amended.

He also stressed that controlled testing would not alter the state-management responsibilities of specialized agencies.

“Digital economy development is not simply about bringing technology into existing industries, but about creating new industries with high added value,” he said.

The goal of the controlled testing, he added, should therefore not be measured by the number of projects that are declared successful on paper.

Instead, it should be judged by whether the pilots produce technologies that genuinely serve people and create new value for Hanoi and Vietnam.

Le Anh Son, director of Phenikaa-X and Phenikaa University, said the company had spent more than five years conducting research and development to prepare for the testing program.

It has carried out thousands of test runs and validated its technology over tens of thousands of kilometers.

The firm now masters the entire software system for autonomous vehicles, which Son described as the ‘brain’ of the vehicles.

The system includes high-precision digital maps, positioning technology, environmental perception, route planning, vehicle control, and other core components.

“Safety is our top priority,” Son said.