Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Baidu was recently given green light to carry out the so-called “unmanned” driving tests in Beijing, a milestone for the Internet giant in pursuit of achieving self-driving cars without safety drivers.

The permit Baidu has received is designed for a grace period before achieving the road tests truly without safety drivers, and afford the company legal basis to conduct driver-free self-driving tests. However, at the initial stage, a safety operator still needs to sit on the driver's seat.

Baidu Apollo fleet; photo source: Baidu

Baidu said the “unmanned” driving test requires much greater reliability for autonomous driving system, and will help cut costs in operating autonomous driving fleet.

License plates used in the autonomous driving road tests of Beijing have five levels, from T1 to T5. The companies qualified with the “unmanned” driving test has to obtain the license under the T3 level or above, and their vehicles are requested to drive at least 30,000km in open road tests without accident and pass specific evaluation in closed testing ground.

At the Baidu World 2020, Baidu showcased the newest autonomous car it jointly developed with Hongqi, FAW Group's premium car brand, which has no safety driver behind the steering wheel.

Other breakthroughs related to fully automated driving unveiled at the same time included:

· An “experienced AI driver” referring to Apollo autonomous driving system

·  5G Remote Driving Service that allows human operators to remotely control vehicles through the cloud in the case of emergencies

· Pre-installed and mass-produced autonomous vehicles offering better safety performance than modified vehicles

The company announced on October 11 that it had fully opened its Apollo Go Robotaxi service to ordinary users in Beijing. Consumers are able to enjoy self-driving taxi rides for free in dozens of pick-up spots in Beijing Economic Technological Development Area, Haidian District and Shunyi District with no appointment required. 

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