Baidu, sometimes called the “Chinese Google” by the media, has announced that it has received licenses to operate fleets of fully autonomous taxis in two cities. In general, passengers can get on and the car will take them to their destination on its own, whereas until now, autonomous taxis have also required a human to intervene in the commands, if necessary.
Baidu will be able to operate these “robotaxis” in areas of the cities of Chongqing and Wuhan at certain times throughout the day.
These fully autonomous taxis will be able to transport passengers from 9 am to 5 pm in Wuhan on an area of 13 km2. In Chongqing, cars will run from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on an area of 30 km2. Until now, autonomous taxis required a human presence to intervene in commands when needed.
The licenses obtained are proof that the technology has come a long way, but the limitations still show that these fully autonomous cars cannot operate completely safely anywhere, anytime.
Baidu has released the sixth generation of self-driving vehicles, the latest of which is a model called the Apollo RT6 EV, which combines an SUV and a minivan.
Some of the components were manufactured “in house” to keep costs down as much as possible. The goal is to put tens of thousands of robo-taxis into circulation, and reduce the cost of trips by half compared to regular taxis.
Baidu launched the first driverless taxi services in 2020.
Sources: Reuters, TechCrunch
Photo source: Dreamstime.com
Source: Hot News RO
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