Baidu-backed JiDU Auto, Hesai Technology join hands to build smart driving system

Shanghai (Gasgoo)- On August 25, JiDU Auto, a smart electric vehicle venture between China’s tech giant Baidu and automaker Geely, signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Chinese LiDAR manufacturer Hesai Technology (Hesai) to co-develop safer and more efficient intelligent driving systems, according to JiDU Auto's press release.

JiDU Auto, Hesai signing agreement; photo credit: JiDU Auto

Previous reports said that JiDU Auto may adopt the pure vision approach to smart driving features. The collaboration with Hesai raised speculation that the company will take the LiDAR solution into account.

JiDU has not commented on the guesswork yet.

In December 2017, Baidu Apollo and Hesai jointly launched Pandora, an all-in-one sensor kit for environmental sensing for self-driving cars. The suite integrates cameras, LiDAR and Apollo's data processing ability into the same module, with advanced synchronization and calibration solutions.

In the development of Pandora, Hesai was mainly responsible for the design and production of hardware, while Baidu Apollo took charge of the definition of overall system and the adaptability of algorithms. 

Hesai announced in May 2018 it raised 250 million yuan ($38.606 million) in the Series B financing, which was led by Baidu and Lightspeed China Partners.