Baidu will release its self driving bus in Japan soon

News24xx.com - Baidu's ambition to bring public transport that operates automatically seems will be happening soon. According to reports, the Chinese technology company is ready to release an autonomous bus in Japan in 2019.

In an annual developer conference, Baidu said that it is boosting the bus production process called Apolong is being done at an assembly facility in Xiamen, Fujian Province, China. In the making, Baidu is working with King Long, a busmaker who also comes from China.

Baidu targets total production to reach 100 units of buses. Quoted from The Verge, Saturday, July 7th 2018, the bus without the driver's seat and the steering wheel can carry as many as 14 passengers.

As for its operations in Japan, Baidu invites as well as SB Drive to operate this autonomous vehicle in Japan. SB Drive is a subsidiary of Softbank that develops autonomous vehicle technology for public transport.

According to Highway Traffic Safety, Apolong will come with a fourth level autonomous steering technology, a nickname by the automotive engineering association (SAE International), where vehicles no longer require drivers on specific graphical conditions and territories. These buses will be operated at tourist attractions, airports, and other areas bounded by certain graphical areas.

Still related to the news above, Baidu also announced an update on its autonomous platform, Apollo, which exists on some other autonomous Baidu output vehicles. This update will detect the weary driver's face and will allow the vehicle to valet parking.

 

 

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