Baidu, China’s search-engine giant, has begun deploying out its self-driving powered Taxi service in Beijing. Apollo Go, the name of the service, allows passengers to take the cabs without reservation – much like you would for Uber, Hola or Didi.
Image Source: Wang Tianyu
The Chinese tech firm claims passengers can hail the robotic taxi cars through its mobile app and, for now, the service is free. So far, over forty vehicles have been put into operation.
The technology and business concept was first seen during September 2020 at the Baidu World 2020 conference, they demonstrated an artificial intelligence system independent from any human intervention driving a vehicle and navigating obstacles.
“Traffic congestion would be resolved in the next 10 years as AI transforms the transport industry”.
– Robin Li, Baidu Chairman and CEO.
One thing that may be difficult navigating is Chinese law, it currently requires “safety drivers” for autonomous vehicles to prevent potential accidents that human intervention could perform.
