China and its first Robotaxi service called Baidu Apollo

Written by:Diomer Antonio Galán Rincón.

Bachelor's Degree.Public Accounting / MSc.Science of Higher Education.

For several years now there have been different companies that have conducted research and testing of self-driving vehicles, so called because they operate without the control and constant supervision of humans.

The Chinese company Baidu, launched in the first week of May the first Robotaxi service also known as autonomous or driverless cabs as explained by Yunpeng Wang, vice president of the motor section, the robotaxi is called Baidu Apollo and is already available for use by the general public.

Baidu has been developing electronic autonomous vehicles for several years, and to date has more than 400 vehicles with test runs of more than 12 million kilometers. The company's executives believe that they can now expand the provision of the service, as Baidu Apollo is currently operating on the streets of Shougang Park, as well as being available in Beijing transporting passengers through the streets as a conventional cab service.

This robotaxi is one of the first with bi-directional travel and all-wheel steering, which allows for better maneuverability. It is expected to be used as the main transport for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, but it will not be able to travel through all the streets of Beijing, it will be restricted to the common areas where all the facilities and hotels of the future 2022 Winter Olympic Games will be concentrated.

Users who wish and require the use of Robotaxi go to the stop and call one using the Apollo Go app, there they will be able to indicate on a map where they want to move, when the robotaxi arrives a QR code must be scanned that appears on the cell phone of the caller to confirm that he has canceled the transfer, and another code of the health card, which indicates that the person has been vaccinated against the coronavirus otherwise he will not be able to enjoy the transfer.

The vehicle will not be able to move to its destination until the passenger's seat belt is fastened and the doors are closed. Unlike traditional trips, if the passenger goes alone, he/she will have the same silence and tranquility and will not be able to count on the diversity of chats of the cab drivers, among which we have soccer, baseball, passion problems and economic difficulties among others.

The Baidu Apollo robotaxi, will be supported by an autonomous 5G navigation system to receive data from the environment and are supported by different cameras with motion detection distributed by different streets and avenues. The speed reached by these Robotaxi are speeds that do not exceed conventional cars. In addition, they circulate in all lanes of the roads without a specific place, mixing with other conventional vehicles.

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