The big party trick of the Yungwang U9, owned by Chinese BYD, is that it can dance. However, the police weren't entirely happy with that.
Police in China recently issued a ticket to the owner of a Yungwang U9 electric car for using the car's "dancing" feature on a busy road. The incident has caused a stir as it illustrates the potential challenges of new technologies in public spaces.
The Yungwang U9 is an electric car from the Chinese manufacturer BYD, launched in February 2024. The car is priced at 1.68 million yuan (approximately 1.65 million kroner) and offers a number of advanced features, including autonomous driving and a unique suspension technology.
It is precisely the suspension that has given rise to the stall. The Yungwang U9 can raise and lower itself in different movements, giving the impression that the car is dancing.
A video of the incident shows the driver of the Yungwang U9 demonstrating the car's dancing function to a group of passersby on a busy street. The unusual performance creates a queue and disrupts traffic, leading to police intervention.
This is reported by Carnews China .
The driver of the Yungwang U9 was surrounded by a cheering crowd gathered on the sidewalk to watch the car's dance feature. However, as the performance took place on a busy road, traffic problems quickly arose.
The police arrived at the scene and broke up the celebrations. The driver of the Yungwang U9 was subsequently fined for causing traffic disruption.
The incident raises questions about how to handle new technologies in public spaces. The Yungwang U9's dance feature is an example of a technology that can be entertaining and fascinating, but can also have negative consequences if not used responsibly.
It is likely that in the future we will see more examples of technologies that challenge our understanding of how to navigate in public space.
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On the other hand, tech giant Nvidia believes that car brands and they themselves are currently very far from cars that are 'truly self-driving.' And this is regardless of whether the cars run on gasoline, diesel or electricity from a charging station.
Several projects with self-driving cars have already been put to rest. For example, General Motors Group killed its self-driving taxi project called 'Cruise' last year.
The decision was made after several scandals involving cars that caused very long queues, traffic chaos and even accidents involving people hitting each other.