Autonomous driving leader AutoX has hit another milestone in its trajectory of development of Level 4 autonomous driving technology through its Robo Taxi vehicles. The company has announced that it has hit the 1,000 vehicle fleet milestone, which is the largest in China, as it continues to expand rapidly its autonomous vehicle fleet. In a press statement, the company also states that it has also opened a new Robo Taxi operations center in San Francisco in the United States, to expand self-driving vehicle testing in the city.

AutoX is excited about achieving the 1,000 vehicles threshold for its RoboTaxis, as it represents a significant leap forward for scaling its operations and massive commercialization. The new milestone sits ahead of other autonomous vehicle industry leaders like Baidu, Waymo which are both yet to get up to 1,000 vehicles in their AV fleets. AutoX has maintained its leadership of the AV segment in China with its impressive fleet size. Of course, the company plans to scale beyond the 1,000 vehicles threshold in the RoboTaxi fleet, and its trajectory of development lends credence to its lofty goals in the AV industry globally.

AutoX’s autonomous vehicle assembly plant in China started producing the Gen5 system-equipped RoboTaxis in July 2021 and the Shanghai facility has been in full operation, churning out RoboTaxis into the market. The company says that such a dedicated production line for autonomous vehicles is critical in guaranteeing the quality, safety, and consistency of every RoboTaxi, and it is also the first of such facilities in China. The company continues to scale up the reach of its RoboTaxis as new vehicles enter the fleet.

The RoboTaxis have had a great reception since their introduction in China in January 2021. Robo Taxi operations centers are specially-built facilities that support the daily operations of large Robo Taxi fleets. The operations centers are the hub of the Robo Taxis operations and the company operates four of such facilities within a 1,000 square kilometers service area. The other operation centers are in Guangzhou, Beijing, and Shanghai. The company says its mission is to provide everyone access to fully driverless mobility with a great user experience. It continues to expand the segment of the Chinese urban population that is serviced by the Robo Taxi fleet, and AutoX plans to further scale its operations in that regard.

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AutoX, a pioneer in autonomous driving technology, has just announced that it will be expanding its self driving taxi’s operations in China. Now, the RoboTaxi service will have an ‘Operatinal Zone’ of more than 1,000 km² in the region.

For those unaware, the company is the one behind the Level 4 fully autonomous RoboTaxis that are currently running in China. The service includes an unmanned vehicle that helps people in commuting and is wholly autonomous. To expand on its service, the Chinese brand will now have its RoboTaxis navigate through roads inside a large 1,000 square kilometer area.

This region will include small and congested streets, as well as, highways and major roads. According to AutoX, the expansion in services would enable it to improve its presence in China, especially in major cities like Shenzhen, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. These cities are large in terms of area, so the bigger operation zone would enable it to better cover these regions.

The company even shared a new video announcing this expansion, in which we can see the RoboTaxi driving through the commercial center and highways of Shenzhen and finally arriving at the Shenzhen international airport. This highlighted a total of six hours of driving without any issues. As of right now, the brand’s RoboTaxis have been in service for a whole year, with commercial operations first commencing in January 2021. Since its launch, the service area in Shenzhen has also expanded to become the largest fully driverless RoboTaxi zone in China.

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Alibaba-backed autonomous driving leader AutoX has released a video showing its fully driverless Robotaxis, navigating through the mazes of traffic and chaos in some of China’s busy urban roads.

AutoX has been a trailblazer in the autonomous vehicle transportation systems in China. Earlier this year it began testing its Robotaxis in China, and the response was phenomenal. It remains the only RoboTaxi technology platform in China that has achieved fully driverless operations in the country. 

In the official video released, the fully driverless Robotaxi was seen gracefully navigating the dense, chaotic public roads in a Chinese urban village. The car deftly maneuvered its way around various potential impediments in the form of pedestrians, pets, motorists, and static roadside barriers during evening rush hour. 

The video which was filmed in a Shenzhen urban village shows several onlookers catching a glimpse of the driverless cars without passengers moving through the streets. A few of the pedestrians were seen filming or taking photos of the spectacular car.

The RoboTaxi was seen to come out tops when it was faced with a tricky situation. It maneuvered through an extremely narrow lane that is only wide enough for one vehicle while also facing an oncoming human-driven vehicle. In such situations, the RoboTaxi had acted intelligently to come out unscathed. 

The RoboTaxi in the video is equipped with the AutoX Gen5 system, released last month in Shanghai. The Gen5 system has 50 sensors in total, as well as a vehicle control unit of 2200 TOPS computing power. There are 28 cameras capturing a total of 220, six high-resolution LiDAR, RADAR with 0.9-degree resolution which guarantees a 360-degree coverage of the outside of the car. 

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Alibaba-backed RoboTaxi company AutoX announced the commencement of test-run exercises for its driverless taxis in China in December 2020. The company later shared a video of the self-driving Robotaxi in action. AutoX has now announced a new driverless system which is an upgrade over its existing system. The system is identified as AutoX Gen5 and it was announced during an event in Shanghai.

According to AutoX CEO and founder Jianxiong Xiao, the new system is superior to the existing platforms of its competitors, with a very powerful hardware that provides seamless navigation of China’s complex urban driving architecture safely and securely. Indeed, the AutoX Gen5 system is the first in China with sufficient hardware to support fully driverless Robo Taxis in China’s public roads. Production of the Gen5 system has thus officially kicked off today, with elaborate demonstrations provided by the company at the Crowne Plaza, the venue of the Shangai event.

With 50 sensors of various caliber and a vehicle control unit of 2200 TOPS computing power, the Gen5 provides massive support for multiple scenarios. It also comes with 28 cameras, six hi-res LiDAR, and 4D RADAR with 0.9-degree resolution that covers the entire 360 degrees around the vehicle. Remarkably, the LiDAR and camera systems combine to ensure no blind spots for the car. The sensor technology deployed in the Gen5 is top-notch, coupled with the high computing power for Level 4 autonomous driving systems. These enable the Robo Taxis from AutoX to navigate securely and safely across China’s complex road infrastructure. The Gen5 will provide enhanced safety for both vehicle occupants and other road users that may interact with the AutoX Robo Taxi.

According to a press statement released by AutoX, the Gen5 adheres to all the industry standards and is even high up in sole metrics. AutoX continues to enjoy an immaculate safety record after six full months of deploying its fully driverless technology in the Robo Taxis in China. The Gen5 system will help AutoX expand its Robo Taxi fleet in an atmosphere of the utmost safety for all road users. The company has continued to blossom since it started business in 2016, primarily driven by innovations engineered by its diversity-oriented R&D team spread across various cities globally.

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Chinese startup Pony.ai has commenced testing of its driverless vehicles on public roads he the US state of California. This is a prelude to the full rollout of commercial robotaxi services in the US planned for 2022.

Pony.ai is among the startups that have secured approval for driverless vehicle testing in both China and the United States. The testing has progressed past the stage where there will need to be a human safety driver behind the wheel to a fully autonomous operation. The testing is reportedly carried out daily on public roads in the Fremont and Milpitas area of California. A similar test-run is also carried out in the Chinese city of Guangzhou.

According to Techcrunch, Pony.ai has disclosed that it plans to resume a rideshare service that is open to the public in the city Californian of Irvine this summer. The robotaxis won’t be fully autonomous, though, as there will be a human safety driver behind the wheel. The startup aims to fully automate the running of the cars next year. That is if the firm is able to scale the regulatory hurdles that need to be overcome before such services will be allowed on public roads in the US and even China. Pony.ai CEO and co-founder James Peng calls the firm’s plan an “ambitious vision”.

Pony.ai isn’t alone in this goal of achieving fully autonomous robotaxi services. There are several other companies also testing their own models in different US cities, including some Chinese firms – AutoX, Baidu, and WeRide. Other firms also working on driverless rideshare services include Amazon’s Zoox, Cruise, Waymo, and Nuro. There are up to 55 such firms with operational licenses but Nuro is the only firm that has got a deployment permit which makes it possible for the company to roll out driverless car services commercially.

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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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Baidu has commenced paid services for the Apollo Robotaxis in China without a safety driver behind the steering wheel for the first time. The Baidu milestone coincided with another milestone by Alibaba-backed AutoX, who completed 100 consecutive days of their Robotaxi service in Shenzhen, China’s densest city.

The Baidu rollout operation was significantly different from previous demonstrations of its Apollo driverless taxis, which required a safety driver behind the steering. Instead, a safety member sits at the front passenger seat to respond to emergencies. The rollout operation currently involves 10 Apollo robotaxis operating within a 1-kilometer radius in western Beijing. The taxis pick and drop passengers on eight designated points in Shougang Park. Shougang Park is an emerging sightseeing destination and is expected to have a large influx of tourists and visitors during the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

On the other hand, a statement released today by AutoX says the company had enjoyed tremendous acceptance among Shenzhen residents since it began the Robotaxi project in January. AutoX says their robotaxis is fully driverless and does not need a safety member either behind the steering or inside the vehicle. The company says that it is a significant milestone that it had achieved with the 100 days of commercial operations.

Founder and CEO of AutoX, Professor Jianxiong Xiao, in a statement made public, said that the first 100 days had been an enormous step forward for the company and a milestone for the entire industry in China. He also said that the feedback they had gotten so far would help them improve its service to make the driverless journeys a fantastic experience.

AutoX has enjoyed much support from the Shenzhen city authorities, who continue to provide a firm regulatory framework for AutoX to thrive in the city. The city will soon pass legislation to allow Level 4 self-driving cars on its roads and is poised as the first city to do that, ahead of Beijing, where restrictions persist. To mark the 100-day milestone, AutoX has released a video (find below) of its robotaxi operations in Shenzhen. The video shows how the AutoX vehicle responds to different situations on the road, both commuters, and motorists alike. The robotaxi captured in the AutoX video took 16 ride orders and navigated through several iconic landmarks in the city.

The Apollo taxi service is open to adults between the ages of 18 and 60 and costs about $4.60 for each ride. The sight of the robotaxis drew a sizable number of onlookers who wanted to get a closer look at the vehicles. This forced the taxis to repeated halts. Most of the passengers reported a smooth ride inside the taxis. The Apollo Go app is what customers can use to order for the driverless taxi service, and their identities must be verified before they can gain access to the vehicle. The car begins to move when it detects that the passengers have secured their seatbelts.

While there are still concerns about the safety of driverless vehicles on public roads, Baidu feels that the driverless taxis have gone through sufficient safety tests and are indeed safe for use. Baidu says that its Apollo Go Robotaxi service tests across several cities in China have been very successful, with over 200,000 passengers within the past year. The company hopes to scale up the rollout of the Apollo driverless taxis to 30 cities within three years.

AutoX also says it will continue improving and expanding its product offering by unveiling new features to its Robotaxi service. These include an upgrade of the sensor hardware system to the AutoX Gen 5 setup, which is more effective, having six hi-res lidars and eight hi-res 4D imaging radars.

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(via)

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China’s leading autonomous driving technology provider AutoX has announced a partnership with Honda China to deploy Honda cars fitted with AutoX’s autonomous vehicle technology for testing on public roads in China. In a press release, the company disclosed that Honda China will provide two of its models, the Honda Accord and Inspire vehicles, to deploy AV technology and testing in some of China’s most populous cities.

AutoX runs the Robotaxi service (with a fleet of about 100 vehicles) across some of China’s leading cities after successfully testing the Level 4 autonomous vehicles in China last year. AutoX’s AI self-driving platform is highly developed and can handle the densest and most dynamic traffic systems, having pioneered the Level 4 AV Robotaxis. AutoX’s mission is to provide autonomous transportation solutions to a broader segment of the population using its self-driving technology, which it terms democratizing autonomy.

Honda will bring its automotive expertise to the partnership as it hopes to deepen its understanding of the Chinese traffic ecosystem, establish acceptance and safety of the self-driving technology, and explore new autonomous technology solutions to tackle road traffic accidents. Honda’s SENSING technology was deployed in China in 2015 and has proved effective in reducing road crashes from SENSING-enabled vehicles. Last month, Honda began industrial production of Level 3 AVs in Japan and would seek to draw from Level 4 tech available from AutoX for subsequent AV development.

The success of the testing process for the cars will determine the direction of the partnership between Honda and AutoX. A successful testing regime across public roads in China’s most densely populated cities could see mass production of such vehicles for the Chinese market. But this could take a few years to come to fruition.

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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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Earlier today (28th January 2021), AutoX officially launched its driverless taxi service, RoboTaxi, in China. The service is currently in its pilot program and is available to the public in Shenzhen.

Back in December 2020, AutoX had launched the service in the region for its final phase of testing. Now, the company is now fully open to the general public that can now book a completely autonomous RoboTaxi. The self driving taxis are capable of running on regular public roads in the city and can even take “unprotected left turns at busy intersections, makes side passes on streets, deals with a scooter running traffic lights, and more.”

At the moment, people interested in the pilot program can sign up through the AutoX RoboTaxi registration page. Once selected, the pilot users can use the AutoX membership credits as well for the RoboTaxi rides. 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. These customer care agents will also be able to check the status of the vehicle in real time to provide any necessary assistance.

For those unaware, AutoX has been conducting various trials and tests regarding its driverless taxi service in China since mid 2020. At the moment, the company advanced operations center that is built in Shanghai and other major cities. These sites are equipped with “ultra reliable Internet connectivity from multiple suppliers, fortified with fiber-optics, and supported by a back-up power system.”

Through this system, the company guarantees seemless passenger support and communications. Currently, AutoX is operating over 100 RoboTaxis in the cities of Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Wuhan. This has enabled it to accumulate vast miles of road data in the Asian cities, especially ones with a high population density that suffer from challenging urban traffic conditions as well.

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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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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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With 5G technology, autonomous vehicles are fast becoming a reality and Chinese firms are at the forefront. Two of China’s leading self-driving car firms Didi Chuxing and AutoX are reportedly set to launch their own autonomous ride-hailing pilot projects. According to a TecNode report, two sources familiar with the matter hinted that the pilot projects will commence in late May in the outskirts of Shanghai.

The projects run separately even though both firms were reported to have commenced their partnerships with the Shanghai government around the same time.

The race to be among the first to launch commercial autonomous ride-hailing cabs have been raging in China with Pony.ai and Baidu at the forefront. AutoX and Didi are aiming to become among the first to get the nod to commercialize its Robotaxi operations.

When contacted to confirm the news, a company representative told TechNode that Didi was actively testing robo-taxi in Shanghai and hopes to launch the pilot service as soon as possible.

On the other hand, AutoX announced Friday, the opening of what it claimed is Asia’s largest robotaxi operations centre in Shanghai. The centre sits in an area spanning 750 square meters and located in the northwestern Jiading district. The operation is expected to collect and process “petabytes” of driving data from road testing in Shanghai each week. In addition, the operation will also be deployed for performance training simulations in a virtual traffic environment. It will also house facilities to test hardware in climate conditions such as high-pressure water and high temperature.

AutoX claims that users “will soon be able to hail a ride” in its autonomous vehicles but the app is yet to be unveiled.

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(source)

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