Baidu’s Apollo Go has signed a cooperation agreement with Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) to introduce autonomous ride-hailing services in the city. This marks a significant step in Apollo Go’s global expansion, as Dubai becomes its first international market outside mainland China and Hong Kong. The partnership aligns with Dubai’s vision of advancing smart mobility and integrating autonomous technology into its transportation network.

100 Apollo Go Robotaxis by 2025, expanding to 1000 by 2028

The initial phase of the project will see 100 Apollo Go RT6 robotaxis deployed in Dubai by the end of 2025. These autonomous vehicles are designed for safe and efficient driverless mobility, equipped with high-reliability systems and an intuitive user experience. By 2028, the fleet will expand to no fewer than 1,000 vehicles, supporting Dubai’s goal of making 25% of its transportation autonomous by 2030. This large-scale deployment underscores the city’s commitment to pioneering self-driving technology.

150 Million KM of safe driving & 10 Million rides completed

Apollo Go has a proven track record in autonomous driving, having completed over 150 million kilometers of safe driving and provided more than 10 million rides. The RT6 robotaxis are designed with advanced safety features, ensuring a comfortable and reliable ride. With experience in large-scale operations in cities like Wuhan, China, Apollo Go is well-prepared to manage the complexities of an urban environment like Dubai. The company will collaborate closely with Dubai authorities to adapt the technology to local regulations and road conditions.

Dubai’s advanced infrastructure helps Apollo Go’s expansion plans

Dubai has been at the forefront of supporting autonomous vehicle initiatives, making it an ideal location for Apollo Go’s international expansion. The city’s intelligent infrastructure and commitment to innovation provide a strong foundation for autonomous mobility services. Testing will begin in central areas of Dubai to ensure the technology adapts smoothly to local traffic patterns and urban challenges.

Apollo Go expands globally with support from Hong Kong and the UAE

Baidu’s global ambitions for Apollo Go were further strengthened when it received the first autonomous vehicle test license in Hong Kong in November 2024. Dubai’s selection as the first market for full fleet deployment highlights the trust and support of the UAE government. This partnership follows Baidu CEO Robin Li’s meeting with UAE leaders at the World Governments Summit in February 2025, where strong backing was expressed for Apollo Go’s vision of sustainable and intelligent urban transportation.

What is the future of Smart Urban Mobility?

Apollo Go aims to revolutionize urban mobility by providing safe, efficient, and intelligent transportation solutions. As cities worldwide embrace smart transportation, Baidu’s expansion into Dubai marks a key milestone in making autonomous ride-hailing a reality on a global scale. The partnership with RTA is a major step towards achieving a smarter and more connected future for urban transport.

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Elon Musk pulled the curtain back on a new, electric, autonomous vehicle at Tesla’s “We, Robot” event in Los Angeles on Thursday night. Called the Robovan, it is a prototype that’s roughly the size of a bus and is designed for transporting people and goods within high-density areas.

According to Musk, the Robovan is capable of carrying up to 20 passengers or cargo. The Robovan also has a distinctive retro-futuristic aesthetic, like the Tesla Cybercab unveiled at the same event. 

It has a silver metallic body with black accents and is adorned with sleek strips of lighting. It looks like, to me, something Iron Man would drive if he needed a van.

It has sliding doors that open to reveal the interior, which includes seating, standing space, and tinted windows— all without a steering wheel. After Cybercab, it’s another vehicle from Tesla that’s fully autonomous in nature.

And while the robotaxi is said to get the cost of transport down to around 20 cents a mile, the Robovan is claimed to take that even further, down to just 5-10 cents a mile.

The video below shows the Robovan in action, and it certainly looks like something out of the future. However, I wouldn’t be surprised to see design changes when it becomes a reality. For instance, the Robovan has a low ground clearance, which is clearly not practical for city roads.

Musk is quite optimistic about Tesla Robovan

Musk, however, didn’t reveal much about the specifics of the van. And since it’s a prototype, details on the price, production plans, and a release date remain unclear. It will not be a cheap vehicle, though, that’s for sure. 

Musk, however, said, “We’re going to make this.” But take the statement with a bit of skepticism as Tesla has a history of missing self-imposed deadlines. Adding to the uncertainty, this is just a prototype. The final design and production timeline are far from certain. 

While the Robovan is undeniably eye-catching, it isn’t a novel concept for an autonomous van. We’ve seen similar concepts from companies like Zoox and Cruise, albeit on a smaller scale. China’s WeRide has also unveiled a comparable Robobus.

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Exciting news! Recently, Amazon-owned Zoox’s autonomous shuttle service hit the open public roads, marking the first time in history that a purpose-built robotaxi has driven autonomously with passengers, and without any manual controls like a steering wheel or pedals. The experience was built for riders, not drivers, and it was a huge moment for Zoox and its crew, who made this happen.

According to Jesse Levinson, co-founder and CTO of Zoox, being the world’s first passenger in a robotaxi with no manual controls on open public roads was one of the highlights of his life. Reinventing transportation required assessing all-new innovations at every stage. Zoox put its vehicle through iterative loops of simulations and structured testing in the test chamber to clock serious miles on private test tracks. Meanwhile, the L3 test fleet collected real road data and drove more than a million autonomous miles in San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Seattle.

Zoox became the first company in July 2022 to self-certify a purpose-built, fully autonomous, all-electric passenger vehicle to the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, which are the federal vehicle safety performance requirements needed to operate on public roads. Last week, Zoox received its driverless testing permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles to operate its robotaxi autonomously on public roads, both empty and with Zoox employees as passengers.

Starting this spring, Zoox’s full-time employees will be able to ride in the robotaxi between its Foster City offices during business hours. This milestone is a significant achievement for Zoox, the autonomous vehicle industry, and transportation in cities. It’s a step closer to bringing purpose-built robotaxis to the general public, and it will revolutionize how people travel, making journeys easier and more enjoyable.

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Cutting-edge research conducted by the transportation engineers at North Carolina State University concluded that adding a  “white light” to the traffic signal would enable Autonomous Vehicles (AV) to help control the traffic flow and let human drivers know whom to follow. 

The research uses computational simulations to figure out ways in which self-driving vehicles can help to significantly improve travel time through intersections and reduce fuel consumption. Researchers have named this novel concept the ‘white phase intersection’ wherein the computing power of AVs will be used to navigate and predict the traffic flow at intersections. 

Under the white phase concept, all AVs in a particular area like an intersection or traffic signal will communicate wirelessly with each other. They will simultaneously also communicate with the main computer controlling the traffic signal. The main computer will collect and analyze all the data and when enough AVs approach an intersection, it will activate the White Light on the signal. 

Once you see the White Light on the signal, you will know that there are many AVs at your intersection and they are coordinating their movements to facilitate an optimum and efficient traffic flow. This is important information for non-autonomous vehicles driven by humans as when the traffic signal shows White Light, the drivers would just need to follow the vehicle in front of them to get the best traffic flow, which will save both time and fuel. 

Basically, research shows that the AVs will gather data about traffic, location, terrain, and other variables from each other and then map out the best flow of traffic. Human drivers will just need to follow the AVs. Essentially when you see the white light just follow the vehicle in front of you. If it stops, you stop. If it goes, you go. If the vehicle in front of you is passing through the intersection, then you also pass through the intersection. 

When the majority of vehicles at the intersection are driven by humans and only a few AVs are near the area, the traffic signal will revert back to the conventional green-yellow-red pattern. 

To find out the efficacy of the white phase, researchers used specially designed microscopic traffic simulators. These simulators are complex computational models designed to replicate real-world traffic, down to the behavior of individual vehicles. Using these simulators, the researchers were able to compare traffic behavior at intersections with and without the white phase, as well as how the number of AVs involved influences that behavior.

Researchers found that AVs help to improve traffic flow. However, there is a catch. The white phase concept doesn’t make much difference if there are fewer AVs. The study shows that if AVs account for only 10 to 30% of the total vehicles at a white-phase intersection then you see only small improvements in traffic flow. However, as the number of AVs increase, the benefits also multiply. 

The novel concept of White Phase Intersection is still in the nascent stage. It will be years before the AVs can adopt the distributional computational approach for traffic and will require even more time for governments to adopt the new white light at traffic signals. 

However as more and more companies and industries are getting into the autonomous driving sector, the future definitely lies in planning for a scenario where we will have more self-driving cars than human drivers on road. 

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(Source)

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Yandex is planning on starting field tests for its self driving taxis in Moscow, Russia. This would allow the people living in the Capital city to experience the future by taking a ride in the new autonomous vehicles later this year.

The Russian tech based firm made the announced earlier this week, revealing its plans for a late 2021 testing phase. For those unaware, Yandex runs a vast majority of services in the region, ranging from online search to even food delivery, and for the past three years, the company is also looking to test self driving technology in Russia, Israel, and even the United States of America.

According to the tech giant, Robotaxis will be available from its Yandex.Go application in one Moscow district for certain customers. The company added that “The launch in Yasenevo is the first stage of a large Yandex project to launch driverless taxis. Over time, there will be more cars, the number of locations you can go to and from will increase, and ever more people will be able to hail driverless taxis.”

Unfortunately, the Russian legislation does not permit such autonomous vehicles to travel without a person at the wheel as of right now. Although, there are exception based on special economic zones, like the city of Innopolis in the Tatarstan region. Furthermore, there is also a restriction on their use in certain areas of large cities that could be partially lifted after a law recently came into force earlier this year. At the moment, Yandex owns a sizeable 170 driverless cars that have collectively traveled over 14 million kilometers. It has even employed robots that deliver restaurant meals in central Moscow.

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An indication of the degree of acceptance in the use of driverless vehicles in Germany is the new legislation presently passed in the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament, that would allow driverless vehicles to ply public roads across the country from next year, 2022.

This new legal framework backing commercial operations of autonomous vehicles would undoubtedly be attractive to companies involved in autonomous commercial car-hailing and logistics services, fast-growing across the world. The new legislation, when passed, will allow autonomous vehicles to operate without the hitherto mandatory safety driver behind the wheels. Germany had seen some degree of autonomous vehicle testing with a safety driver behind the steering.

The proposed legislation will only become law after it is passed in Germany’s upper house of parliament. The details of the bill show that autonomous vehicles without a safety driver could be allowed to ply public roads after satisfying all the safety requirements for such operation. The bill also includes proposed initial applications for driverless cars on public roads, including passenger transport, logistics, company shuttles, and business and supply trips between medical facilities and retirement homes.

There are specific requirements from companies intending to enter the business to ensure safety and security. Few companies already carrying out autonomous testing in Germany may have gotten a head start when the law is eventually passed.

This year has seen a steep rise in the number of permits for self-driving cars on public roads in different parts of the world. China and the US have seen a substantial deployment of these autonomous vehicles in some cities. AutoX is currently deploying its robotaxis in several countries with a reasonable degree of success.

It is expected that the upper chamber of parliament also passes the regulation for it to become law in Germany.

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(source, via)

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Autonomous vehicles are gradually gaining ground all over the world, propelled by the increasing deployment of the 5G technology. As 5G connectivity continues to grow, we also expect to see more startups and carmakers with commercial-ready autonomous vehicles like AutoX’s.

Tech giant and Cloud computing powerhouse Microsoft has announced a partnership with German carmaker Volkswagen to produce autonomous vehicles. The partnership will utilize Microsoft’s expertise in cloud technology to fast-track the development of Volkswagen’s self-driving model.

Volkswagen and Microsoft had already established a partnership which saw the carmaker deploy Microsoft’s cloud technology for connected cars. Volkswagen is merely expanding Microsoft’s cloud technology deployment to fully autonomous vehicles. Using Microsoft’s Azure Cloud computing platform, the carmaker hopes to develop an Automated Driving Platform (ADP) that would be the fulcrum of further development in the area of autonomous driving systems.

Microsoft Azure is the well-developed and powerful cloud computing arm of Microsoft. The arm offers an array of services and solutions that are increasingly becoming more effective as many organizations and businesses migrate their critical resources to the cloud for greater security, speed, and overall versatility.

Volkswagen had realized the huge data requirements needed for the development of its autonomous vehicle systems under the framework of the Autonomous Driving Platform, and with this partnership with Microsoft, the company would be able to speed up the development cycle of the autonomous driving systems from months to weeks, deploying the huge computing and data capabilities of Microsoft’s cloud technology.

An increasing number of carmakers who are now adding connected and autonomous vehicles into their production profile have realized the important role of tech companies in developing autonomous systems. The technologies available via cloud services could indeed mark a turning point in fast-tracking the development of autonomous driving and its subsequent deployment on public roads in the years to come.

Volkswagen, therefore, joins General Motors and Cruise as automakers who have tapped from the cloud technologies available through Microsoft Azure in developing self-driving systems.

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In December last year, Alibaba-backed RoboTaxi company AutoX announced the commencement of test-run exercises for its driverless taxis in China. Just a few days ago, the company also disclosed that it will be running a pilot commercial program for the electric vehicle in Shenzhen, China.

We’ve now gotten our first glimpse of the Robotaxis in action. AutoX has released a new video in English demonstrating how the company’s autonomous robotaxi service works. Shenzhen is the 5th largest city in China and China’s tech hub. Thus, it is just apt that the first test run is carried out here. The video is impressive, showing the AutoX Chrysler Pacifica navigating left turns, going around parked vehicles, overtaking on two-lane roads, and stopping for pedestrians and cyclists. This qualifies the vehicle as Level 4 autonomous. All of this with no driver in the front seat.

The vehicles of AutoX are equipped with the startup’s proprietary vehicle control unit called XCU, which the company claims have faster processing speed and more computational capability to handle complex road scenarios. The video shows the car doesn’t exceed the speed limit of 40km/h. Those riding in the RoboTaxi are also able to speak to a customer support agent to ask any question that they wish to enquire about. The customer care agents will also be able to check the status of the vehicle in real-time to provide any necessary assistance

Since this is a pilot program, interested persons can sign up through the AutoX RoboTaxi registration page to join. Once selected, the pilot users can use the AutoX membership credits as well for the RoboTaxi rides.

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Chinese technology giant Baidu, which is better known for its search engine, has a diversified portfolio of products and services. The company is now moving a step closer with its smart car in the United States.

Baidu has received permission to test its fully autonomous vehicles without a safety driver in California. With this, the company has become the sixth one to receive permission to test driverless cars.

The Chinese company had first received permission to test autonomous vehicles, with safety drivers, in 2016. With this new permission, the company can now test three driverless vehicles in Sunnyvale, located in the San Francisco Bay Area.

It now plans to start testing its autonomous vehicles — Lincoln MKZ and Chrysler Pacifica, day and night within Sunnyvale. However, the company has not yet revealed a timeframe about when it will actually start testing.

In China, Baidu has been testing autonomous vehicles without a safety driver in Beijing and Changsha since last year. Last year, AutoX, another Chinese company, was given permission to start testing driverless cars in California.

Baidu has been focusing a lot on its automotive business. Recently, the company partnered with Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, which is China’s largest private automotive group, to make electric cars in China.

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The popular drone making brand, DJI, is apparently building a new team that will be working on developing self driving or autonomous technologies. The company has put up various job listings and has already begun hiring as well.

According to a BTTransport report, the Chinese tech giant is hiring engineers from various fields and backgrounds like the auto electronics, autonomous driving, in car software, and automobile industry, as per its recent job posts. People close to the matter added that DJI is planning on selling driver assist technology as well. This includes technology like LiDAR sensors, which is a crucial component of self driving vehicles, and other packaged solutions for autonomous driving functions.

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At the moment, the drone maker has yet to publicly announce this move. Although, the company has apparently been working on LiDAR technology and cameras for years now, as per the sources. Notably, the move from DJI arrives as various hardware and software based firms are racing to get a foothold in the automobile industry, especially in regards to autonomous vehicles and their future. Huawei is a great example of this with its HiCar initiatives along with its work in developing Smart Roads in China.

Currently, DJI dominated the global small drone market with a massive share of 69 percent. Research and analytics based firms recently estimated that the market’s overall value is worth about 8.4 billion US Dollars and is even expected to grow further. For those unaware, the company got placed on the US Commerce Department’s Entity List back in December 2020, for allegedly facilitating human rights abuses in China.

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Earlier this week, GM (General Motors) unveiled a new futuristic self driving car. This was a new Cadillac imagined by the automobile maker, which is even capable of flying and can carry a passenger through the skies.

According to a Reuters report, the new flying Cadillac is autonomous and can even land and take off vertically. As per a senior executive from the company, the new concept vehicle is a “reimagining the future of personal transportation.” The flying Cadillac from GM can only carry a single passenger and is technically more akin to a VTOL drone (Vertica Take off and Landing). It will be capable of flying from one urban rooftop to another and can reach speeds of up to 55 miles per hour as well.

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The vehicle is fully autonomous and all electric and is powered by a 90KW motor. This battery is a GM Ultium battery back, which is housed in an ultra lightweight body with pairs of motors. The company unveiled the new concept car in a video as a part of its virtual keynote presentation, which had Chief Executive Mary Barra reveal the futuristic flying car along with a family friendly Cadillac electric shuttle.

Back in 2020, the senior executive had revealed that GM is exploring alternative methods of transportation, which included aerial taxis. GM design chief Mike Simcoe further added that “VTOL is key to GM’s vision for a multimodal future,” and he believes that the vehicle can be “the Cadillac of urban air mobility” as well. At the moment, no finer details regarding the vehicle are currently known, but the company did state that it is “arriving soon” with lounge like seating, biometric sensors, voice controls, and hand gesture support as well.

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Apple has been working on several new technologies but the one that is getting everyone’s attention for the past couple of weeks is the much-rumored Apple Car. The technology, which is called Project Titan, has been making significant progress.

Recently, it was reported that the company could be planning to launch its own Apple Car by 2024 but soon after that, another report claimed that the electric vehicle won’t be launched at least until 2028.

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Now, in the latest development, Hyundai Motor has confirmed that the company is in talks with Apple. Confirming this, the company said that “we understand that Apple is in discussion with a variety of global automakers, including Hyundai Motor. As the discussion is at its early stage, nothing has been decided.”

Prior to the confirmation from Hyundai, a Korean publication Hankyung had reported that the automaker will help Apple in producing electric vehicles as well as developing special batteries for the upcoming car. Also, a part of the development of components for the car will take place at Hyundai Motors’ facilities in the United States.

As we reported earlier, Apple is likely to partner with an automaker for manufacturing the so-called Apple Car as the Cupertino-based giant lacks the resources required for the production of cars. While the autonomous vehicle from Apple is still years away, it’s good to know that the project is progressing.

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Uber, the world’s leading cab-hailing service provider, has announced that it is selling its driverless self-driving car subsidiary to Aurora Technologies for $4 billion. Uber is also investing $400 million in the startup for a 26 percent stake.

As a part of the transaction, Uber’s Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi will be serving on Aurora’s board. The startup, headquartered in Silicon Valley with an office in Pittsburgh, will also be acquiring engineers and support staff of Uber A.T.G.

This acquisition deal is expected to get closed in the first quarter of 2021. The sale of Uber’s Advanced Technologies Group has been valued at $4 billion, which is much lower than its valuation of $7.5 billion last year.

Although Uber is selling its Advanced Technologies Group (A.T.G.) division, the company says that it remains interested in the field. Going forward, the company will be collaborating with Aurora to launch driverless cars on its network. However, Aurora’s CEO Chris Urmson has confirmed that the startup’s first product won’t be a robot taxi but is likely to be a self-driving truck.

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The driverless technology was a key focus for Uber’s founder and former CEO Travis Kalanick as it could help the company get rid of its biggest expense — drivers. With driver-related expenses reducing, the company was hoping to become profitable, ending years of enduring losses in billions of dollars.

However, the autonomous driving unit of Uber has been involved in several legal matters — from pedestrian death to intellectual property theft. While investors have been long pressuring the company to sell its self-driving unit, the company was finally forced to do so after revenue plummeted because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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AutoX, a China-based autonomous vehicle startup which is backed by Alibaba Group, has today confirmed that it has started testing the fully driverless vehicles in China with Pacifica minivans from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCA).

The company will be deploying a fleet of 25 driverless vehicles in Shenzhen and five more in other cities to test the technology. AutoX has modified a number of vehicles from various manufacturers and tested them in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Wuhan, and Wuhu.

Earlier this year, in July, AutoX became the second company to test a passenger vehicle on California’s public roads without a safety driver sitting on the front seat. The first company to do so was Alphabet Inc’s Waymo.

AutoX has said that the company will not have a remote center. It’s competitors, WeRide and Baidu, which are also testing driverless vehicles in China, uses a remote center that can take control of the vehicle if and when needed.

The company is pursuing the so-called level 4 autonomous driving standard. In this, a vehicle can handle all aspects of driving in most possible circumstances without the need for human intervention.

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Vehicles of AutoX are equipped with the startup’s proprietary vehicle control unit called XCU, which the company claims have faster processing speed and more computational capability to handle complex road scenarios.

Xiao Jianxiong, Chief Executive Officer of the company had revealed last month that the company is currently in talks with prospective investors to fund fleet expansion and development plans. However, he has not shared more details about this.

Apart from Alibaba, the company is also backed by Dongfeng Motor Group and SAIC Motor Corp. So far, it has raised more than 160 million in five funding rounds, the latest being Series B raised in December last year.

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California has long provided a conducive environment for autonomous vehicle testing in the US. However, the state has been prohibiting companies from using these vehicles for commercial activities via ride-hailing services until last week. This was when the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved two new schemes that allow autonomous vehicle operators to launch their own driverless ride-hailing programs in the state.

The CPUC – in charge of creating regulations for autonomous vehicles for drive-hailing and taxi services has released new rules in fleet services, which is the outcome of several years of rigorous work. The two new programs — the Driver Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Program and the Driverless Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Program provide opportunities to participants to offer passenger service, shared rides, and accept monetary compensation for rides in autonomous vehicles, the watchdog announced recently.

CPUC Commissioner Genevieve Shiroma stated that both programs are important first steps to support the study of the operations of autonomous vehicle fleets and how it can be leveraged to support the grid as a demand-side management resource. Going further, the efforts to incorporate transportation into the electric sector has been better served with the berthing of the two programs. Plans are underway to ban the sale of new combustion engines vehicles in California by 2035.

Interested companies in the two new programs are required to obtain the necessary license, either a charter-party carrier Class P permit or a Class A charter-party certificate in the “Drivered” AV Passenger Service pilot program, together with an AV testing permit from California’s Department of Motor Vehicles. The process is expected to be painstaking in order to address potential security issues and breaches. The process will take several months, hence we may still be far from seeing AVs in commercial operations, accepting passengers.

California has very strong rules for AV operators, among the most stringent in the US. It requires companies to obtain a permit for different types of testing, discloses AV accidents, lists the number of miles covered, and the disengagement number, which is the frequency at which human safety drivers were forced to take control of their autonomous vehicles.

As expected, AV companies do not find California’s requirements friendly, but considering the state is home to a large population of engineers and programmers who work on autonomous vehicles, they have little choice. Currently, 60 companies have active licenses to test AVs with a safety driver in the state. Five companies — Cruise, Waymo, Nuro, Zoox, and AutoX — have, in addition, a permit that authorizes them to test fully driverless vehicles without human safety drivers on public roads.

Companies intending to launch Robotaxi services are required to submit quarterly reports to the CPUC which provides “aggregated and anonymized information about the pick-up and drop-off locations for individual trips; the availability and volume of wheelchair accessible rides; the service levels to disadvantaged communities; the fuel type used by the vehicles and electric charging; the vehicle miles travelled and passenger miles travelled; and engagement with advocates for accessibility and disadvantaged communities,” the Watchdog stated.

There are presently few paid self-driving taxis services in the US, like Waymo, Lyft, Aptiv, and Motional. Thus, the majority of AVs on the road are either on goods deliveries or in a testing-only capacity.

Annabel Chang, head of state policy at Waymo, has praised the decision as an important step to get more autonomous vehicles on the road. “This long-awaited agency action will allow Waymo to bring our fully autonomous Waymo One ride-hailing service to our home state over time,” she stated. She also stressed that the CPUC’s decision comes at a key time as the company inches towards incorporating the latest technology to San Francisco and ultimately putting the Waymo Driver to use in service to Californians.

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A couple of months prior, we had reported on AutoX and Alibaba’s Amap partnering to launch a RoboTaxi ride service in China. Now, AutoX has officially launched this service in Shanghai, just shortly after its successful pilot.

The RoboTaxi ride hailing service is now open to the general public, marking a transmit milestone for China’s largest city. AutoX RoboTaxis are booked via Alibaba’s AutoNavi (also known as Amap, Gaode, or 高德) smartphone app. Furthermore, its launch also arrives after AutoX entered into a strategic partnership with Letzgo, a major taxi based firm in Shanghai. In other words, the RoboTais can also be hailed through Letzgo’s smartphone app as well.

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Letzgo currently operates over 16,000 vehicles in more than 18 cities including Shanghai, in China. The company will also employ trained staff to operate RoboTaxis. This partnership will have AutoX provide its AutoX Driver platform while Letzgo will operate its daily fleet operations. Notably, the company is also taking various precautionary steps to keep customers safe during this time of crisis.

Before starting a trip, riders will have to say the last four digits of heir phone numbers to a voice recognition system within the vehicle. While on the way, passengers can also monitor their progress through a display. Additionally, this screen will also showcase the objects around the vehicle and display information that reveals how an autonomous vehicle views the world and makes decisions.

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Alibaba‘s Amap and AutoX have partnered up to launch a self driving vehicle as Robotaxi, in China’s ride-hailing network for commercial service in China. The service is being launched first in Shanghai.

The city of Shanghai is the first area where collaboration is launching its service, which is named ‘AutoX RoboTaxi.’ This is big news considering it is the first time a self-driving service has been available on a major ride hailing platform in China. The service is being offered by AutoX (also known as AutoNavi and Gaode) alongside the Alibaba owned, Amap Co. Ltd.

The process of using the service is relatively simple and quite similar to any regular taxi hailing service. A user must enter their pickup and drop locations, after which, the application will list all vehicles that can fulfill the request, including AutoX RoboTaxi vehicles. One can choose between the regular and autonomous vehicles selections and the app will simply send a car closest to the user in either case.

According to AutoX CEO, Dr. Jianxiong Xiao, “The seamless combination of autonomous and human-driving fleets is crucial for the adoption and commercialization of self-driving technology. The service area of autonomous vehicles is an ever-increasing yet geo-fenced region, and the fleet size takes time to grow. This combination is a must-have for an autonomous driving company to be able to provide a truly useful service for all riders.”

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At the moment, other self-driving car services only offer drops at fixed locations. However, the AutoX’s service will have users be picked up and dropped off at any location within the city. This provides a greater degree of flexibility and is a lot more viable and convenient for its customers. Furthermore, AutoX vehicles are capable of going speeds up to 80km/h and has also been developed with the recent pandemic in mind.

The AutoX service is streamlined identity confirmation and ride starting process, which is completely touchless. For its self driving car, AutoX employs the V2X technology that is connected to servers via 5G networking. This allows the vehicle to communicate with road infrastructure like traffic lights, and obtain other information as well. At the moment, the RoboTaxi service is the first real-world application of Shanghai’s V2X infrastructure, which was recently built as part of China’s national New Infrastructure Initiative.

The practical applications and implications of this service is enormous. Not only does it open a new breed of service to the existing industry, but it also further advances the technology behind it and its implementation. This will also help the large population of Shanghai to move freely around the city with lower risks and go about daily commutes to subway stations, grocery stores, and more. The service will have 100 cars in its arsenal and will even start accepting free promotional rides to early users from 27th April 2020.

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Self-driving or autonomous vehicles have prevailed for a while now. But their usage has only come into the light now during the COVID-19 pandemic. Neolix, a Chinese self-driving delivery company has been transporting medical supplies and food in its autonomous vans to the most affected areas like the epicenter in Wuhan. Seeing its potential, the Chinese government has announced to subsidize up to 60% of the total cost of the vehicle’s price to the companies willing to purchase them.

Neolix started manufacturing its self-driving vans only in May 2019. Since then, the company has only produced 125 units. But now, due to the vehicle’s potential amidst the coronavirus outbreak, the company has received over 200 orders for its vans. Further, after the Chinese government’s announcement of subsidizing the cost of the self-driving vans to any firm purchasing them for the greater good, the company now expects to manufacture and sell more than 1,000 units of them by the end of this year.

Autonomous vehicles have always been thought to be dangerous on roads with normal vehicles and pedestrians. However, as most of the regions in the world are now facing forced shutdowns, the roads are mostly less congested and thus advanced self-driving vehicles can be used in a large manner without hesitation to transport necessities to affected areas.

(Source)

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Historically, the CES events, which stand for Consumer Electronics Show, had its focus solely on what its name stands for, consumer electronics. These include smartphones, Smart TVs and other products marketed directly to end users. However, the CES 2020 in Las Vegas is gearing up for something unique as Honda, the automobile manufacturer, is set to unveil a futuristic Augmented Driving Concept Car in the event.

The unique and futuristic physical aspects of the car solidify that it is indeed a concept vehicle. In other words, concept cars never actually see commercial mass productions but are used to offer a glimpse of what the future of the industry might offer. In the video, the company also states that it is a “Depiction of future possible features of automated vehicles.”

Most Concept cars showcase highly advanced designs and features like a large interactive display, a HUD (heads up display) and more. However, Honda takes a different take on Autonomous vehicles. According to the company, this car is a part of an Augmented Driving Concept which means to supplement the experience of still being able to drive and feel the “freedom” and “thrill.” In simpler terms, the vehicle whilst being completely automated still offers complete freedom with a manual mode through an interactive steering wheel.

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Although this goes against the definition of an automated vehicle, Honda is still trying to preserve the human element in driving. Furthermore, the company also mentions that such cars will be controlled by a single all-in-one unit steering wheel for a “seamless transition from autonomous to semi-autonomous driving.”

Honda went as far as to deliver a very simple diagram to explain why the world needs a semi-autonomous vehicle. Looking at the diagram, the focus of Human curiousity oriented car becomes clear. Generally, automated cars get the user from the start to the end point efficiently, which is what they are built for. However, the Honda concept can take inputs and understand the user’s needs; like going to the coffee shop before work or picking up sweets before going to the park. Simply put, it offers more user control over its actions and augments the experience.

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(Source)

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A recent survey carried out by the Capgemini Institute has revealed that more persons in China are enthusiastic about the emerging self-driving/autonomous car technology than in the United States (US).

The survey had over 5000 respondents and while more than half of the respondents from China showed more positivity about self-driving cars, those from the U.S. and the U.K. are the least excited about the prospect of leaving the driver seat for robotic technology to take up the chauffeur’s duties.

China has set lofty objectives for the take off of autonomous vehicles in the country. Late last year, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued its “Internet of Vehicles Development Commission”. The document sets 2020 as a milestone for changing from pilot tests to substantial scale adoption of autonomous vehicles. A report from Bloomberg New Energy Finance also showed that the number of Chinese companies with testing permits for self-driving cars had rocketed from zero to 35 in the last 18 months.

In an interview, Markus Winkler, global head of automotive at consultancy Capgemini SE stated thus; “In China, but also in other Asian countries, we are seeing more excitement about ‘the new’ generally. The acceleration in the last few years comes from the government as well.”

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On the whole, manufacturers are ramping up their research and development efforts in autonomous vehicles. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk recently referred to self-driving technology as “transformative” to the electric car manufacturer, in an investor call last week.  Other established automotive companies like Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG are ramping up investment in driverless technologies. General Motors Co.’s self-driving unit this week drew $1.15 billion in fresh investment, valuing it autonomous vehicle arm – GM Cruise LLC at $19 billion.

(source)

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