Baidu unveils Apollo 3.0, including four mass-produced IoV, autonomous driving solutions

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Chinese Internet giant Baidu unveiled the Apollo 3.0, the latest iteration of its Apollo autonomous driving platform at the Baidu Create 2018 on July 4, which involves four mass-produced solutions for developers to speed up self-driving vehicles' scale production, namely, the DuerOS for Apollo, the valet parking, the unmanned microcar for delivery and the unmanned shuttle.  

Prior to Apollo 3.0's debut, Baidu has unveiled the Apollo 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 versions which have opened their entire units of competency, including the cloud, software, hardware reference platform as well as vehicle reference platform.

One of highlights for the Apollo 3.0 is that the former vehicle reference platform has been upgraded into vehicle validation platform. In other words, Baidu Apollo will provide automakers with standards required for autonomous vehicle development and then vehicle makers can choose the validated vehicles to develop their own autonomous vehicles. 

In addition, the hardware reference platform has been upgraded into the hardware development platform, which has currently attracted 15 partners.

At the same time, Baidu unveiled four mass-produced vehicle solutions, among which three of them are relevant to autonomous driving area.

DuerOS for Apollo

As an in-vehicle operational system, the DuerOS for Apollo boasts voice and vision capabilities that enable users to interact with their vehicles using voice and gestures. Meanwhile, the vehicular visual system is able to understand users’ intentions by detecting and analyzing their facial expressions, gestures and other moves.

Li Zhenyu, general manager of Baidu's Intelligent Driving Group (IDG), stated that automakers can complete the deployment of the DuerOS for Apollo in 30 days at most.     

Valet parking

Using cameras and ultrasonic radars, the valet parking solution can help vehicles achieve automatic parking with no need of parking lot revamp and costs no more than RMB 10,000. Panda Auto, a China's EV intelligent car-sharing platform, and Hyundai Motor are two partners of this solution.

Unmanned microcar for delivery

Teaming up with Neolix, a Chinese intelligent logistics solution provider, Baidu Apollo unveiled an unmanned microcar that can be used in such scenarios as food delivery and cold chain. The unmanned model is designed to distribute goods and food for the purpose of releasing human from operating travail and helping companies boost their competency in unmanned distribution.

Unmanned shuttle bus

According to Li Zhenyu, Baidu has opened its solution to mass produce the Apolong minibus, involving autonomous driving suites, mass-produced tool components and the capabilities of safety guarantee and operational dispatching, which can help automakers develop their own low-speed unmanned shuttle buses.