China’s Baidu Launches Self-Driving Taxis in Shenzhen

Chinese tech agency Baidu launched its self-driving taxi service in downtown Shenzhen on Thursday, marking the corporate’s first deployment of autonomous automobiles right into a densely populated space of China. And whereas human drivers are nonetheless sitting behind the wheel as a security precaution, that might change sooner or later because the expertise progresses.

Baidu has arrange 50 totally different pick-up and drop-off stations in Shenzhen, a metropolis of 13 million folks, and the self-driving taxis will be summoned by a smartphone app referred to as Apollo Go, in line with a brand new report from state media outlet China Daily.

Beijing allowed the primary self-driving taxis to hit the roads in November, designating a “pilot area,” the place the automobiles could possibly be trialed by corporations that gained regulatory approval. But Baidu isn’t the one self-driving automobile firm providing taxi companies in China. Companies DeepRoute, Pony.ai, and AutoX have additionally begun trials of their personal robotic taxi rides.

From China Daily:

Shenzhen is the seventh metropolis through which Baidu has launched its autonomous automobile companies in China and the corporate has set an bold aim of increasing Apollo Go operations to 65 cities nationwide by 2025 and 100 cities by 2030.

The newest Shenzhen operation is the primary time Baidu has entered a downtown space in first-tier cities in China. Nanshan district is certainly one of essentially the most densely populated areas in South China and residential to numerous companies with a big demand for transportation companies.

Baidu launched a brand new video on YouTube displaying off its fleet of autonomous automobiles.

People have been ready on self-driving automobiles for fairly some time now, with guarantees from American companies that stretch all the way in which back to the 1950s. But it appears Americans aren’t actually main the pack on the subject of delivering on this promise simply but. Especially whenever you have a look at the ridiculous dangers and stupid mistakes that Tesla’s so-called “self-driving” options are taking in the mean time.

Looks like China is unfortunately taking the lead on this battlefront within the New Cold War. At least for now.