- A fleet of 1,000 Apollo Moon
autonomous EVs will be built over the next three years
- The partnership will accelerate the commercialization of fully
autonomous ride-hailing services as driverless cars will be
produced at a reduced cost
- Owing to the maturation in technology and mass production
capabilities, the manufacturing cost per car will be lowered to
RMB 480,000
BEIJING, June 17, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Baidu, Inc.
(NASDAQ:BIDU and HKEX:9888) is partnering with BAIC Group's EV
brand ARCFOX to jointly release
Apollo Moon, a new generation of
robotaxis that are set to be mass-produced with a per unit
manufacturing price of RMB 480,000.
Remarkably only one third of the cost of average L4 autonomous
vehicles, Apollo Moon is a
monumental milestone in the large-scale commercialization of fully
autonomous ride-hailing services in the smart transportation
industry.
Apollo Moon has a projected
operating cycle of over five years and is slated to
revolutionize the transportation sector by providing dependable
long-term robotaxi ride-hailing services. In stark contrast to the high production price of
an average autonomous vehicle in the industry – which typically
fetches over RMB 1.5 million per unit
– Apollo Moon is therefore highly
affordable. The reduced cost of production will facilitate a
greater degree of scalability, driving the widespread
popularization and increasing commercialization of fully autonomous
ride-hailing services in China.
"As early as 2017, Baidu and BAIC Group entered into a strategic
partnership. Both sides share the same goals and insist on
independent R&D to promote the development of autonomous
driving in China. The launch of
Apollo Moon is an important
breakthrough signifying the powerful linkage between China's leading autonomous driving technology
and the most advanced smart vehicle platform, marking a landmark
step in the field of robotaxi ride-hailing services globally," said
Zhenyu Li, Senior Corporate Vice
President of Baidu and General Manager of Intelligent
Driving Group (IDG).
At the press conference, Baidu and ARCFOX – the high-end brand
of EVs under BAIC Group – reached a new strategic cooperation
agreement to roll out a fleet of 1,000 Apollo Moon robotaxis in three years. This will
enable Baidu Apollo's fully autonomous ride-hailing services to
permeate more urban cities during that time period, achieving the
goal of sustainable commercialization. Recently, Baidu Apollo has
begun to roll out Robotaxi ride-hailing services in Beijing (newly added Tongzhou area),
Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chongqing and other cities.
"Through this project, ARCFOX and Baidu will work together to
explore the forefront of cutting-edge autonomous driving
technology. With ARCFOX's advanced automotive platform, we are well
equipped to bring Baidu's newest generation of autonomous driving
technology to life. At the same time, ARCFOX and Baidu are also
developing the next generation autonomous driving products. As
self-driving cars change the future world of transportation, our
goal is to bring users a smarter and more convenient travel
experience. ARCFOX actively pioneers the field of autonomous
driving, working closely with leading partners in the industry to
create new experiences through the exploration of advanced
technology," said Yu Liu, Chairman
of the Board of BAIC BluePark New Energy Technology.
The four pillars of Apollo Moon
lie in its leading technology, user experience, high quality and
affordable costs. For starters, Baidu Apollo Moon utilizes the
"ANP-Robotaxi" architecture, a leading navigation pilot product
that can reduce the weight of autonomous vehicle kits while sharing
intelligent driving vehicle data to create a closed-loop
information ecosystem. By combining these capabilities along with a
customized LiDAR and corresponding unmanned redundancy functions,
fully driverless autonomy can be realized.
Apollo Moon will be geared with
omni-sensors and computing unit redundancy functions as well as a
precise failure detector and degradable processing algorithms,
while 5G remote driving service and V2X will also be supported.
Compared with its predecessors, the overall capabilities of
Apollo Moon will have improved
tenfold with a 99.99% success rate of ride-hailing in complex urban
cityscapes, allowing for a fully driverless vehicular experience
that is equivalent to that of human drivers.
The arrival of Apollo Moon will
bring about many innovations for the operation of fully autonomous
ride-hailing services and provide an unprecedented level of
interactivity for passengers, culminating in the ultimate
autonomous vehicle user experience. Independent four-door lock
controls, dynamic vehicle identity authentication and rear
passenger status detection technologies are now available. On the
exterior body, an electronic display is attached to the sunroof to
exhibit the status of a robotaxi and allows passengers to identify
their ride from afar. In terms of passenger convenience,
Apollo Moon contains new features
including a seat belt reminder for rear passengers, AI voice
assistant, mobile app climate control, intelligent car doors and
more.
In eight years, Baidu Apollo has gone from being a pioneer to
becoming a dominant force that is spearheading the entire
autonomous driving sector. Currently, Baidu Apollo has been awarded
with 2,900 patents for intelligent driving and 244 relevant road
testing licenses, accumulating a total
testing mileage of over 12 million kilometers that is
steadily growing at a pace of 40,000 kilometers every day –
equivalent to circling the globe once per day.
About Baidu
Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated
world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company
with strong Internet foundation. Baidu is traded on the NASDAQ
Global Select Market under the symbol "BIDU", and on the main board
of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code "9888".
Currently, one ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares.
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SOURCE Baidu, Inc.