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The unmanned self-driving taxi is one step closer!
On April 28, Beijing issued a notice of unmanned manned demonstration application, and Baidu and Xiaoma Zhixing became the first batch of approved enterprises. Within 60 square kilometers of the Beijing Economic Development Zone, users can experience unmanned autonomous taxis.
Baidu Apollo driverless base. Photographed by Jin Yidan, a reporter of this newspaper
China Securities News reporter visited baidu autonomous driving base in Yizhuang, Beijing on the 28th. Through the test ride reporter, it was found that compared with the previous self-driving taxi main driver equipped with safety personnel, the unmanned autonomous vehicle canceled the safety officer of the main driver's seat, and the co-driver was equipped with safety officers and brakes. In terms of charges, the price is 10% off.
In view of the time node for self-driving taxis to achieve full vehicle driverlessness and no safety officer, Wei Dong, vice president and chief safety operation officer of Baidu Intelligent Driving Business Group, said: "Within half a year of conservative points, anyway, it is very fast. ”
The main driver's seat is cancelled from the safety officer
When taking a Baidu driverless taxi, the reporter of China Securities News found that the safety officer who was originally in the driver's seat sat in the passenger seat. In terms of internal structure, compared with the previous model structure, unmanned self-driving taxis have added a foot brake to the passenger seat and a red button on the left side of the safety officer.
"The red button has the function of switching between autonomous driving and manual driving mode, and it exits as soon as you press automatic driving." Safety officer Master Zhang told reporters, "Compared with the previous in the main driver's seat, the safe operation in the passenger seat is now relatively simple, and when encountering a situation, the brake is directly stepped on to terminate the stroke, reducing the takeover of the vehicle in the main driver's seat, and achieving more thorough vehicle driving automation." ”
Safety officers play a vital role in the driving of self-driving taxis. "The initial technology is not mature, and it is necessary for safety personnel to accompany the car to test drive to help improve the technology." With the advancement of the commercialization of self-driving taxis, safety officers have become a safety guarantee for passengers to travel, and can take over vehicles in time when technology fails, reducing safety risks. Master Zhang said.
"The core breakthrough of this time is that there is no safety officer in the driving seat, and the industry has entered a substantial unmanned stage." Wei Dong, vice president and chief safety operation officer of Baidu's intelligent driving business group, said that only by truly removing the safety officer can the labor cost advantage brought by the technology be more fully utilized, and the vehicle can achieve 24-hour operation; at the same time, after removing the driving position, the internal structure of the car can be modularly improved to completely subvert the current travel mode.
"From the end of 2020, Baidu will open a manned test for main drivers in Beijing; at the end of 2021, it will start charging. Yizhuang Management Association is studying the management method of fully driverless, and we have the opportunity to achieve full unmanned autonomous taxis at the end of this year or early next year. Wei Dong said.
The "Implementation Rules for the Administration of Unmanned Road Testing and Demonstration Applications for Passenger Cars in the Beijing Intelligent Connected Vehicle Policy Pilot Zone" formulated and issued by the Beijing Intelligent Connected Vehicle Policy Pilot Zone stipulates that the demonstration application subjects that have obtained the notice can carry out unmanned autonomous driving demonstration applications of open roads within 60 square kilometers of the Beijing High-level Autonomous Driving Demonstration Zone.
In accordance with the requirements of the Detailed Implementing Rules, Baidu invested 10 unmanned vehicles in the first batch of unmanned manned demonstration applications, and then plans to add 30 unmanned vehicles.
The pace of commercialization is accelerating
"Now I can run about 7 times a day, and the safety officer goes to work at 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. a day, and travels about 50 kilometers a day." Master Zhang said, "Self-driving taxis have been running in Yizhuang for more than two years, and local residents have slowly adapted to this new way of travel, and the number of orders received has also increased greatly." ”
According to the data, relying on the accumulation of 27 million kilometers of road test mileage in 9 years, Baidu Radish Run has achieved autonomous driving manned travel services in megacities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the number of orders for radish fast running manned reached 213,000. Radish Run, the entrance to Baidu's Apollo self-driving mobility service, is open to the public and will be released in 2021.
Baidu Apollo driverless taxi. Photographed by Jin Yidan, a reporter of this newspaper
The policy helps the commercialization of autonomous driving. The "14th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a Modern Comprehensive Transportation System" released in January 2022 proposes to steadily develop travel services such as autonomous driving and vehicle-road coordination, encourage the testing and application of automatic driving in limited areas such as ports and logistics parks, and promote the development of intelligent buses, smart parking, and smart security inspections. Strengthen technology research and development in the fields of intelligent networked vehicles, automatic driving, vehicle-road collaboration, ship-to-shore navigation, and ship-shore collaboration.
"Unmanned logistics delivery vehicles, unmanned taxis, etc. are not worse than couriers and traditional taxi services." However, at present, due to the limited number of unmanned vehicles, only a few areas can enjoy related services, and there are often no cars in the morning and evening peaks. Ms. Zheng, who lives in Yizhuang, suggested that as the safety officer gradually withdraws, an emergency alarm or braking system can be added to the passenger's rear seat to strengthen driving safety.
During the test ride, the reporter found that the taxi fare discount of the driverless taxi reached 10% discount. According to the bill provided by Baidu, the starting fee is 18 yuan / km, the mileage fee is 4 yuan / km, the 1.7 km only charges 2.52 yuan, and the activity discount is 22.68 yuan.
"At present, radish fast running is still in the stage of commercial testing, and the core is to improve driving safety. As the business model runs through, the subsidy will be relatively reduced. The next step is to gradually consider profitability. The person in charge of Baidu's automatic driving said.
Baidu CEO Robin Li said that driverless driving will give birth to a new format of shared travel, and the autonomous vehicle industry will enter a full commercial stage in 2025. The data shows that from 2017 to 2021, the size of the mainland unmanned driving market increased from 68.1 billion yuan to 235.8 billion yuan, with an average annual compound growth rate of 36.4%. The China Commercial Industry Research Institute predicts that the size of the mainland unmanned driving market will reach 289.4 billion yuan in 2022.
EDIT: Leaf Pine