Robotaxis set to hit city roads
Print Edition
Alibaba Group’s online mapping service AutoNavi and China’s autonomous driving startup AutoX will soon roll out robotaxi services in Shanghai’s Jiading District.
AutoNavi users can hail a self-driving AutoX vehicle for a free ride in the district from May 8, using the AutoNavi app. Each taxi will have a backup human driver in case of emergencies.
The two companies’ initiative marks the latest step for the city to promote the commercialization of the self-driving car sector.
This is also the first time the public will be able to experience robotaxi services via a ride-hailing app in Shanghai.
Earlier this month, the Shanghai Commission of Economy and Informatization said that the city’s new plan to develop the digital economy encompasses the “smart mobility sector,” including commercial application of intelligent and connected vehicles.
The city will also promote itself as a center for projects related to intelligent and connected cars as part of a broader plan to become a world-class automotive center.
Shanghai will host pilot projects related to the production and use of high-precision navigation mapping and reducing the complexity of driverless vehicles.
The robotaxi service is only open to people who register for the experience from yesterday to May 5, for a free ride between May 8 and May 10.
AutoX said it plans to expand robotaxi services to the wider public after the Jiading trial.
In 2019, Jiading and AutoX reached a strategic cooperation deal.
AutoX said it would trial about 100 self-driving taxis in Shanghai’s demonstration area in early 2020.
AutoX has also established a big data center for self-driving vehicles. The startup calls the center the largest data hub of its kind in China and the biggest robotaxi operations center in Asia. The 80,000-square-feet center collects and stores data from its fleet and from cloud computers, running virtual tests.
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