Home
News
In Focus
Business
Metro
Nation
World
Sports
Feature
Opinion
View more »Opinion Columns
Wan LixinOpinion deputy editor of Shanghai Daily
Restaurants get off to a quick start thanks to game-changing policies
High service charges on event ticket refunds call for further regulation
Sunday
- Subscribe
Driverless car stunt bites Baidu
Print Edition
BAIDU Inc, China’s biggest search engine provider, is under investigation to determine if it had broken any laws after its chief executive tested a driverless car on public roads, Beijing’s traffic police said yesterday.
The firm, China’s answer to Alphabet Inc’s Google, is taking a leading role in the development of self-driving cars in China and beyond. It unveiled a broad alliance for self-driving cars on Wednesday as it aims to get such vehicles on the road by 2019.
But Baidu may now face sanctions from local authorities after police said they were investigating whether there is any irregularity in using a driverless car on public roads.
“The police support technology and innovation of autonomous driving, but it should be conducted legally, safely and scientifically,” Beijing traffic police said in a statement. “Any violations of the law will lead to punishment.”
Baidu declined to comment.
China has been catching up in the race to develop self-driving cars, helped by supportive regulation and Beijing’s desire to shift to an economy driven by high-tech and consumer sectors rather than heavy industry and low-end manufacturing.
Baidu CEO Robin Li conducted a live video chat with participants of the firm’s artificial intelligence conference on Wednesday, projecting him on a huge screen sitting in the passenger seat of a self-driving car while on Beijing roads.
The episode generated discussion online, with some questioning whether Baidu had permission to conduct the test, while others said the car appeared to violate traffic rules. Others online hailed the test. “This ticket, if issued by police, will definitely be historic,” wrote one.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
