Baidu unveils to the public their newest AI and autonomous driving robotaxi, the Apollo RT6 EV.
Baidu may be familiar to many as a giant tech search engine company. However, the company has also ventured into releasing autonomous driving cars, making the Apollo RT6 EV their 6th generation.
Baidu's Self-Driving Robotaxi
The Apollo RT6 EV from Baidu is a hybrid vehicle that has the form of a cross between a minivan and an SUV and features a steering wheel that can be removed.
According to the company's announcement, this electric vehicle will be made available on Baidu's ride-hailing platform in 2023.
TechCrunch reports that the reason behind the removable steering is to provide room for the possibility of having additional seating, gaming consoles, vending machines, or desktops.
The RT6 has the capacity to carry anywhere from two to four passengers. It is the brand-new, fully electric robotaxi that the company intends to roll out on a massive scale throughout China.
The business has stated that it intends to ultimately deploy tens of thousands of the robotaxis in the future.
The Apollo RT6 robotaxis is going to be mass-produced, and the estimated price per unit is $37,000, or 250,000 yuan.
The affordable starting price is stated to be because of the lowered production costs due to the recent advancements in manufacturing.
This will allow the company to eventually manufacture and run thousands of robotaxis next year on a scale across Chinese megacities such as Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Shanghai, and Beijing.
At the Baidu World 2022 technology conference, Baidu's CEO and co-founder, Robin Li, stated, "This massive cost reduction will enable us to deploy tens of thousands of AVs across China."
He added, "We are moving towards a future where taking a robotaxi will be half the cost of taking a taxi today."
The Apollo RT6 comes equipped with Level 4 autonomous driving technology, which utilizes a total of 38 sensors, including 12 cameras and 8 LiDAR, for navigating a variety of challenging streets and locations.
Baidu's Apollo RT6 EV
According to Bloomberg, Baidu's Vice President, Wei Dong, stated that the ride-hailing platform Apollo Go has deployed 300 autonomous cars in major cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, and may become viable in some locations in three years.
The company has stated that it has begun charging fares in Beijing for driverless rides in its fifth-generation robotaxis.
However, Baidu has not disclosed the number of kilometers that it is capable of traveling on a battery that has been fully charged.
This release paves the way for Baidu to bring its robotaxi company to the market. Baidu has indicated that it intends to expand its Apollo Go service, which it expects to take outside of China, to a total of 65 cities by the year 2025 and 100 cities by the year 2030.
A spokesperson for Baidu stated that the Apollo RT6 is expected to have an operational cycle that is greater than five years.
With its growing focus on AI technology and autonomous driving, the Chinese tech company is expanding beyond its core business of advertising on the internet.
As a result, the company is becoming less of a target in China's ongoing crackdown on technology companies such as Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd.
