Baidu's New Self-Driving Taxi Could Cut Commuter Fares Down by Half
The fleet will be launching in China next year.
Chinese tech giant Baidu just unveiled a new self-driving taxi design over at its annual conference, Baidu World 2022, and the company claims it can cut commuting fairs dramatically. Called the “Apollo RT6,” the company’s futuristic creation is fully autonomous with a Level 4 system that utilizes its array of 38 sensors including 12 cameras and eight LiDAR sensors to bring passengers from point A to point B.
By designing a taxi from the ground up instead of its previous retro-fitting and conversion projects, Baidu has also placed a greater emphasis on passenger comfort, implementing a flat floor design with automatic sliding doors and a high-tech interior complete with a removable steering wheel to make more space. On top of being technologically advanced, one of the main highlights of the Apollo RT6 is its cost of production: at roughly $37,000 USD per unit, Baidu says it’ll be able to offer dramatically lower taxi fares for commuters. “This massive cost reduction will enable us to deploy tens of thousands of AVs across China,” CEO and co-founder Robin Li explained. “We are moving towards a future where taking a robotaxi will be half the cost of taking a taxi today.”
If you’re interested in hailing a ride on the Apollo RT6, Baidu will be launching the fleet in China sometime in 2023.
Elsewhere in the automotive industry, GM has been granted a $2.5 billion USD loan by the U.S. government to build EV battery factories.
