Chinese, search engine giant, Baidu has unveiled its latest autonomous vehicle (AV) which has a detachable steering wheel. It plans to utilize the new AV for its robotaxi service in China in 2023.
The cost of the new AV will be around 37,000 USD which is 50 percent less expensive than the previous generation model.
“This massive cost reduction will enable us to deploy tens of thousands of AVs across China,” Baidu’s chief executive Robin Li said at the Baidu World conference. “We are moving towards a future where taking a robotaxi will be half the cost of taking a taxi today.”
The new vehicle will possess autonomous Level 4 capabilities that need no human intervention, with 8 lidars and 12 cameras alongside the car. Lidars are detection systems, similar to radars, which use pulsed laser light rather than radio waves.
The vehicle will hit the roads without a steering wheel once Chinese authorities approve it, said Baidu Senior Vice President Li Zhenyu at the conference, adding that the driving capability of Baidu’s new AV can match a skilled human driver with over 20 years of experience.
