Baidu Maps receives regulatory approval for advanced driver assistance maps in 134 Chinese cities

Beijing (Gasgoo)- Baidu’s navigation arm, Baidu Maps, saw its advanced driver assistance map applications for 134 cities receive approval from China’s Ministry of Natural Resources, which made Baidu Maps one of the first map providers in China to swiftly pass the national review for advanced driver assistance maps.

Photo credit: Baidu

Following the granting of licenses for advanced driver assistance maps in six pilot cities in May, Baidu Maps has continued its efforts for the past three months, expanding its map coverage and achieving lane-level functionality. 

Currently approved in 30 provinces and covering 134 cities, Baidu Maps boasts comprehensive coverage in first-tier, new first-tier, and second-tier cities, with an impressive coverage rate of over 85% in third-tier cities. With this approval, Baidu Maps now spans nearly 1.5 million kilometers of roadways, securing its position as an industry leader – a distance equivalent to circling the Earth 37.5 times, said Baidu.

The swift approval of Baidu's advanced driver assistance maps for 134 cities can be attributed to its utilization of Baidu’s ERNIE AI large Model for automated map production. This technology has enabled Baidu Maps to reduce map production costs by an astounding 95%. With the support of the ERNIE Model, Baidu Maps established a novel approach to map generation, creating an end-to-end lane network paradigm that significantly enhances the entire map production process. 

Notably, this approach has propelled the automation of lane-level map data production, effectively addressing challenges in traditional manual-dependent methods, such as low production efficiency, high costs, and limited scene generalization capabilities. This achievement marks a substantial step towards large-scale production of lane-level maps.