Chinese firm mass produces driverless minibus

China’s internet giant Baidu has started mass producing the country’s first autonomous minibus as the company prepares to roll them out in tourist spots and airports.

The eight-seater Apolong, about one-third of the size of a normal bus, has no steering wheel, driver’s seat, accelerator or brake, Baidu announced on Wednesday at its annual developers’ conference in Beijing.

The driverless bus was co-developed by Baidu and Chinese commercial vehicle maker King Long and is powered by Apollo’s autonomous driving operating system, Apollo 3.0.

The autonomous bus can complete obstacle avoidance, swerving and automatic transshipment without any human intervention, according to Xinhua News.

Video footage released by Baidu – often referred to as China’s Google – shows the company’s massive manufacturing facility in Xiamen, in south-east China’s Fujian province.

The clip showed the bright blue bus in action, stopping in front of passengers and carrying them in the moving vehicle. It is equipped with eight passenger seats and six standing spaces.

The bus will initially be put to use in commercial use in last-mile travel scenarios in tourist spots, airports and other enclosed areas in several cities including Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and the country’s new megacity Xiong’an.

The vehicle can travel up to a distance of 100 kilometres (62 miles) after a two-hour charge at a speed of 60kmh (37mph), according to manufacturer King Long in a previous statement.

The production volume of Apolong has reached 100 units at the manufacturing site, according to Baidu Chairman and CEO Robin Li.

‘2018 marks the first year of commercialisation for autonomous driving. From the mass production of Apolong, we can truly see that autonomous driving is making great strides – taking the industry from zero to one,’ said Mr Li.

Setting its sights on overseas market, the company has teamed up with Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp to bring Apolong autonomous minibuses to the country by early 2019.

They are set to enter Japan’s self-driving market as shuttle buses at nuclear power stations or in Tokyo to ferry around elderly people in local communities.

The self-driving bus was open to the public for trial rides during the Digital China Summit back in April.

The vehicles have the ‘fourth level’ of automation as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers, meaning they can operation within an enclosed location without human intervention.

This is one short of the highest level, where vehicles can operate anywhere on the road under all scenarios.

‘I took a self-driving car to come to the developer conference last year, and ended up getting a ticket at (Beijing’s) fifth ring road,’ Mr Li quipped.

The Chinese government has included autonomous cars as one of the key sectors in its ‘Made in China 2025’ initiative, which aims to transform China into a world-beating manufacturer of high-end, innovative products, according to a previous report by Bloomberg.

Official policies encourage collaboration between Chinese technology companies involved in various aspects of transportation, from the cars themselves to satellite navigation.

‘In the past, China exported cheap commodities to the world. In the future, China will export AI technology to the world,’ Mr Li said.

He also announced a new AI chip called Kunlun at the conference, which can support a wide range of AI applications including voice recognition, natural language processing and autonomous driving.

Daily Mail

UM– USEKE.RW