A driverless vehicle developed by Baidu Inc runs through Shougang Park in Shijingshan district, Beijing. [Photo provided to China Daily]
WUHAN - Chinese tech giant Baidu has obtained permission to operate fully-driverless taxis commercially on public roads in the cities of Wuhan and Chongqing.
Baidu will offer the commercial robotaxi service -- with no driver present -- in some areas of the two cities via the company's autonomous ride-hailing platform Apollo Go.
Baidu said it would implement redundant monitoring and parallel driving to ensure passengers' safety.
Baidu has launched a pilot service on Apollo Go in various Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.
In recent years, China has rolled out a series of policies to promote the development and commercialization of self-driving technology.
There are two mini-screens on the back of the robotaxi's front seats, and the route for the trip is displayed in real time. Passengers can click the screen to check the details of the trip or play music or videos. The car will reduce its speed automatically when it detects pedestrians or other vehicles in front of it.
It also carefully abides by traffic lights and maintains an average speed of 40 kilometers per hour.
"The commercial operation of the robotaxi in Wuhan marks a step forward for innovation in autonomous driving," said Wu Qiong, an autonomous driving expert at Baidu. Wu also regarded Wuhan as a desirable place for the testing and commercialization of more forward-looking technologies in this area.
