China’s Baidu Begins Robo-Taxi Tests

Baidu Inc. has begun testing a fleet of robo-taxis with consumers on public streets in Changsha.

The 45 specially equipped L4 Hongqi electric vehicles, which were co-developed by Baidu and FAW Group, are capable of Level 4 autonomous driving.

A backup driver will be on board to take control of the car if necessary.

The vehicles will be limited to a 27-sq-mile geofenced area within Changsha, which is the capital of China’s southern Hunan province. Initially, the Apollo robo-taxi service will cover about 31 miles of roadway. This will be expanded next summer to 84 miles.

The test vehicles will be capable of communicating with each other and select infrastructure systems. Previous concerns about electromagnetic interference have been addressed, according to Baidu.

Baidu accounted for more than half of the 183 autonomous vehicle licenses that were approved in Changsha and Guangzhou earlier this year. The carmaker, which began testing self-driving cars in 2015, also was one of three companies that received permission last week to test self-driving shuttle buses in Wuhan.