Baidu Begins Public Testing of Apollo Go Robotaxis in Shanghai

Chinese tech giant Baidu has started public testing of its Apollo Go robotaxi mobility platform in Shanghai. The company continues to expand its presence in China. 

Although Baidu says its robotaxis have reached Level 4, a human safety operator will be present in all rides open to the public, in line with local regulations. The Society of Automotive Engineers defines a Level 4 autonomous vehicle as one that in most cases does not require human intervention but can operate only in limited areas. 

Companies such as Waymo, Cruise, Motional, Pony.AI and Yandex use a similar combination of lidar, radar, cameras and GPS to create a vehicle "brain" capable of Level 4 autonomy. 

Shanghai's fleet will consist of fourth-generation Baidu Hongqi EV electric vehicles, which are produced on the FAW platform. The company does not disclose how many vehicles initially entered the city, but its goal is to increase this number to 200 cars in Shanghai. Overall, Baidu says it is either testing or publicly deploying about 500 vehicles in 30 cities. 

Although Baidu has a permit to test its driverless technology in California, it has not yet deployed any services there and instead is directing most of its resources to scaling up in China. According to a company spokesperson, demand for robotaxi services in Chinese cities has grown significantly, so Baidu is focusing on improving its technology, building more vehicles and ensuring a convenient user experience. 

Shanghai is the fifth city where Apollo Go robotaxis operate, following Changsha, Cangzhou, Beijing and Guangzhou. Shortly before this, the company extended its robotaxi services in Beijing to the Tongzhou district, which is considered the eastern gateway to the city, adding 22 new stations over a distance of more than 50 km. In April 2021, Baidu launched 10 fully autonomous robotaxis in the 2 km² Shougang Park in the capital, which became the testing ground for the first commercial robotaxi operations in China. 

No safety operator sits behind the wheel of these vehicles; only a safety officer is present in the passenger seat to reassure the user. Each ride costs $4.60 and is open to passengers aged 18 to 60. Elsewhere, including Shanghai, rides are free because the service is still in the trial stage. 

In Shanghai, passengers can use the Apollo Go app to summon a robotaxi from 9:30 to 23:00. Passengers will be picked up or dropped off at one of 150 stations in the Jiading district, home to Shanghai University, the Shanghai International Circuit and many tourist attractions. 

Shanghai is also home to Baidu's Apollo Park, a facility for autonomous vehicles intended for operation, testing and research. Covering 10,000 m², it will accommodate 200 vehicles that the company hopes to bring to the city, making it the site of the largest robotaxi fleet in East China. 

Baidu's long-term goal is to deploy 3,000 electric vehicles over the next two to three years in 30 cities across China. Given that the company has been investing in autonomous driving research and development since 2013 and has run the Apollo project since 2017, it is ready to do so. In June 2021, Baidu and BAIC Group revealed plans for the Apollo Moon car, which will be mass-produced at around $75,000, which is actually quite affordable. Baidu said it will produce 1,000 such cars in the next few years, along with various other models it has not yet announced, to support its growing fleet. 

Infrastructure is a major part of the company's plans to expand Apollo Go. A Baidu representative said the company is also investing in building 5G-based V2X infrastructure at hundreds of intersections in major Chinese cities. Baidu is already installing sensors such as cameras and lidars, combined with edge computing systems that can transmit road information to autonomous systems to reduce congestion and road risks. 

The company said that in the long run, smart infrastructure will help autonomous cars operate more reliably and offset some of the huge costs associated with onboard sensors and computing power. While Baidu says its robotaxis currently still rely on onboard capabilities to achieve Level 4 autonomy, the company sees V2X as the future of large-scale deployment. 

Apollo V2X is a comprehensive intelligent transportation system for people and vehicles, covering road data sensing and intelligent processing analysis, traffic safety and efficiency support. V2X provides full awareness of urban traffic: object-level recognition, beyond-line-of-sight perception, millisecond-level computation and global-level control.