BAIDU ACCELERATES INTELLIGENT TRANSFORMATION OF GLOBAL MOBILITY INDUSTRY WITH NEW PARTNERSHIPS AND MAJOR MILESTONES UNVEILED AT BAIDU CREATE
>> Baidu announces partnership with Geely on smart connectivity, intelligent driving, smart home and e-commerce
>> Apollo Go robotaxi project set to launch in Changsha, Hunan province
>> Release of Apollo 5.0 includes upgrades to Apollo Open Platform and Apollo Enterprise
>> The test kilometers driven by Baidu’s 300 autonomous vehicles surpass two million
BEIJING -- Baidu, Inc. today showcased the latest updates and major milestones of its intelligent driving efforts at Baidu Create AI developer conference, empowering the intelligent transformation of the auto and mobility industries with innovative technology.
Baidu and Geely announce partnership in intelligent vehicle solutions
Onstage at Baidu Create, Baidu’s Co-Founder, Chairman and CEO, Robin Li, and Li Shufu, Chairman of Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, announced their strategic partnership and gave a live demonstration of integrated applications of vehicle-to-home technologies. Under the new partnership, Geely cars, beginning with the Geely Boyue Pro, will be equipped with the GKUI19 connected vehicle solution powered by Baidu’s DuerOS for Apollo.
“Major historic progress in the field of mobility flows from advancements in cutting-edge technology in the transportation industry. Geely’s long history of technological focus has fast-tracked the carmaker as an innovative force in China’s automotive industry and a trendsetter in the era of intelligent vehicles. Baidu and Geely’s strategic partnership will empower AI to create more spontaneous and convenient interactions between humans and vehicles. It will also accelerate the intelligent transformation of the mobility industry, supporting China in its transformation to become a leader in the age of smart mobility,” said Robin Li.
“China is at the forefront of smart vehicle technology innovation, delivering safe, convenient, and rewarding mobility experiences to consumers. As China’s top AI company and a pioneer driving the smart transformation of the industry, Baidu has the world’s leading AI capabilities with extensive and unparalleled expertise in smart driving technology,” said Geely’s Li Shufu. “Through strategic partnerships and the synergy of resources, we are committed to taking the industry’s technology crown, and collaborating to create a futuristic smart mobility ecosystem and a brand-new value experience for customers to enjoy.”
Providing a major boost to the intelligent transformation of the auto industry in China, the new alliance between Baidu and Geely aims to accelerate the popularization of smart vehicles in China and help shape the future of smart mobility globally.
Baidu marks milestones in test kilometers driven and first-ever T4 test licenses issued in Beijing
Baidu revealed that its fleet of 300 L4 autonomous vehicles across 13 cities had recently surpassed a milestone 2 million kilometer mark for distance driven in urban road environments. Securing another top spot in China’s autonomous vehicle industry, Baidu has been awarded 438 new autonomous driving patents, more than any other company in China. Further strengthening Baidu’s leading position in L4 road testing in China, the Beijing Municipal Commission of Transport allocated its entire first batch of five T4 autonomous driving test permits on July 1 to Baidu, making it the first-and-only company to receive the highest-level permit issued in China. The T4 license is an open-road test license, signifying that an autonomous vehicle possesses the ability to drive on complex urban roads, tunnels and school zones and respond to a range of complicated scenarios.
A new era of L4 mass production and Apollo Go Robotaxi unveiled
Apollo’s collaborative platform is already well underway towards ushering in a new era of mass production for L4 autonomous vehicles, with Baidu and Hongqi’s pre-production line now fully operational. With vehicles set to first be deployed in Changsha, Baidu will soon realize the completion of its evolution from scale tests to pre-production and on to the deployment and operation of the autonomous vehicles.
Also set to be debuted in Changsha is Apollo Go, Baidu’s Apollo robotaxi project, which is slated to be launched as part of the Hunan capital’s smart city upgrade. Under the program, a 5G network and an intelligent upgrade of roadway infrastructure will be deployed to lay the groundwork for what will be the country’s largest L4 self-driving taxi fleet. In his keynote, Zhenyu Li, Vice President and General Manager of Intelligent Driving Group at Baidu, showcased the Apollo Go mini-program interface to attendees at the conference, which users can use to hail a ride in one of Baidu’s autonomous vehicles.
Baidu debuts Apollo 5.0 replete with new transformative solutions for developers and enterprises.
Baidu also announced the release of Apollo 5.0, which includes upgrades to both Apollo Open Platform and Apollo Enterprise. The Apollo Open Platform has upgraded 17 core capabilities and makes its data pipeline accessible to developers, empowering them with six data capabilities, including intelligent data collection, open synthetic dataset, large-scale cloud training, custom simulation validator, open data application set and seamless compatibility with the Apollo Open Source Platform. Now developers can complete dynamic calibration for a vehicle in just 30 minutes via the cloud at a rate of 100 vehicles per week.
The Apollo Enterprise upgrade includes new production solutions for self-driving taxis and intelligent signal control as well as the bolstering of three core capabilities in autonomous minibuses, valet parking and DuerOS for Apollo.
Built on Baidu’s advantages in its proprietary integrated solutions as well as HD maps, the production-ready autonomous parking solution ‘Valet Parking’ is positioned to deliver an incredibly cost-effective method for transforming traditional parking facilities into smart infrastructure.
Baidu’s Apollo intelligent transportation solutions have also been deployed in cities, with the company’s intelligent transportation information control system already helping to reduce traffic delays by 20-30% in Baoding, Hebei province. Moving forward, Baidu will invest in driving transformation in intelligent transportation by further improving system control efficiency across all facets of mobility.
Driving industry transformation with a robust ecosystem of partners and future-focused initiatives.
Baidu’s Apollo has a robust ecosystem of 156 partners including leading carmakers Geely, Chery, Great Wall, and Ford, with more than 60 auto brands powered by Baidu’s capabilities in connected vehicles and over 300 vehicle models on the market to date. The Apolong mini-bus, which Baidu unveiled one year ago, also got an upgrade – an Apolong full-size bus and an expansion of operations from enclosed parks to open roads. Apollo’s Minibus solutions have reached agreements with multiple automobile companies and autonomous shuttle buses have begun operation at automaker JMC’s campus in Nanchang, Jiangxi province.
Baidu also launched an initiative with ten of its partners, including BMW, Audi, and Daimler, to publish “Safety First for Automated Driving” (or SaFAD), a non-binding organized framework for the development, testing and validation of safe automated passenger vehicles. For the first time, SaFAD offers automated vehicle developers and operators a system for clear traceability that proves AVs to be “safer than the average driver” through components such as cameras or steering systems.
With the emerging age of intelligence and mobility revolution underway, Apollo is committed to pioneering with openness and future-focused technological innovation to accelerate the intelligent transformation of the global mobility industry.
