Engineering China's enhanced road safety

Driving innovation

In 2009, at the height of her professional career, Yao made a strategic move, taking a position as a designer at Tongji Architectural Design Group to anchor her work in deeper academic research, and simultaneously pursued a doctoral degree in road safety at Tongji University.

In 2013, she took on the Wuhan International Circuit project, where she introduced a "circuit as a service" design philosophy — applying race circuit-level safety principles to autonomous driving and public roads. That same year, while pregnant, she continued running simulations and refining the design right up until giving birth.

The effort translated into results in 2014, when the circuit's safety simulation data closely aligned with the FIA's parameters, drawing global recognition. The finished, butterfly-shaped circuit also became an integrated venue for both racing and autonomous vehicle testing, helping bridge circuit technology and everyday road safety.

Over the course of her career, Yao and her team have designed more than 200 motorsport circuits and secured over 40 industry-first achievements for China and the wider motorsport sector.

In recent years, however, circuit engineering has accounted for only a third of her professional work, Yao said.

The bulk of her time is devoted to researching intelligent traffic safety and innovative mobility, repurposing racing circuits as high-standard testbeds for civilian vehicle development.

"Modern race circuits are no longer exclusive to motorsport; they provide critical testing environments for autonomous vehicles operating under the most extreme driving conditions," Yao said.

In 2020, she established the Shanghai Research Center for Smart Mobility and Road Safety, applying race circuit safety technologies to autonomous driving and public road applications.

She also invests time in public education, publishing popular books such as The Story of Motor Sports and a karting-themed comic book that have reached millions of young readers. "I have received so much encouragement and praise from society in this era, and I've always thought about how I can give back," she said, adding that she will continue to donate to efforts geared toward road-safety science popularization.

In 2020, Yao was named one of China's model workers.

lilei@chinadaily.com.cn