Baidu, Panda Car Jointly Launch Shared Autonomous Vehicle Pilot in Chongqing
Tencent Tech, 5/24/18
Chinese internet company Baidu (Nasdaq: BIDU) and Chongqing-based new energy car rental app operator Panda Car Rental have launched China's first shared autonomous vehicle pilot program in Chongqing. The trial operations will deploy six shared autonomous vehicles for approximately one month within the "Baidu-Panda Autonomous Vehicle Demonstration Park" of Chongqing's Liangjiang New Area.
The shared vehicles are equipped with Baidu's commercialized Valet Parking technology, which features several functions including autonomous parking, automatic docking and charging, and the ability to remotely hail the car to a fixed location. The technology can also perform a variety of other actions to help avoid collisions including recognizing traffic lights, pedestrians and other obstacles.
The pilot program is primarily being opened to public groups who were able to reserve their participation in advance using invitation codes from Baidu. Such users can use the Panda Car app to order and return vehicles, as well as use their remote-hailing feature. All of the shared autonomous vehicles have a security officer stationed in the car to monitor performance in real-time and guarantee the safety of passengers.
By the end of 2018, Baidu and Panda Car plan to deploy a fleet of nearly 100 vehicles and jointly develop more functions for the vehicles to provide a wider range of applications for passengers.
Editor's Note: For more information on this topic, please see Baidu, Lifan, Panda Ally on Self-driving Car Rental Business, MD 11/13/17 issue.
Keywords: Panda Car Rental hardware Baidu BIDU automobile driverless vehicle vehicle rental app
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