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Automotive

AutoX rolls out first fully autonomous taxi fleet in China

By Paul Ridden
December 03, 2020
AutoX rolls out first fully autonomous taxi fleet in China
After months of testing, AutoX's fleet of fully autonomous taxis rolls out in the Chinese megacity of Shenzhen
After months of testing, AutoX's fleet of fully autonomous taxis rolls out in the Chinese megacity of Shenzhen
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After months of testing, AutoX's fleet of fully autonomous taxis rolls out in the Chinese megacity of Shenzhen
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After months of testing, AutoX's fleet of fully autonomous taxis rolls out in the Chinese megacity of Shenzhen
The fully driverless vehicles sense their surroundings using ultra-high-resolution cameras, LiDAR, radar and blind spot detectors
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The fully driverless vehicles sense their surroundings using ultra-high-resolution cameras, LiDAR, radar and blind spot detectors
The AutoX vehicles are the first in China to operate without human assistance or remote operation
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The AutoX vehicles are the first in China to operate without human assistance or remote operation
A look inside the cabin of an AutoX fully driverless robo-taxi
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A look inside the cabin of an AutoX fully driverless robo-taxi
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After joining forces with Alibaba's Amap to pilot robo-taxi ride-hailing services in April, and then opening the service to the Shanghai public, AutoX has now launched the first fully driverless fleet in China's Shenzhen megacity.

As with other autonomous vehicle ride-hailing projects around the world, AutoX RoboTaxis in China have so far had safety drivers ready to take over control of the vehicles should a problem arise. After conducting "driverless stress tests" using 25 vehicles for the last six months or so, the company has now deployed a completely autonomous fleet in downtown Shenzhen.

The vehicles are built around the company's newly released 5th gen autonomous driving system, which benefits from more powerful sensing technology – including an array of ultra-high-resolution cameras, two LiDARs and 4D radars – to help the RoboTaxis deal with complex traffic scenarios. They're also kitted out with multiple blind spot sensors that are reported capable of detecting large and small objects.

The company has posted a video to its YouTube channel where you can see one of the company's autonomous taxis maneuver around vehicles on the road, give way to pedestrians and scooters, and make a u-turn – all without any remote operation or human assistance.

AutoX has more than a hundred autonomous vehicles operating in Shanghai and Shenzhen, and is currently undertaking five testing projects in cities around the world, including the US. Back in July, the company became the third firm to be granted a driverless testing permit by the California Department of Motor Vehicles – after Waymo and Nuro.

Source: AutoX

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AutomotiveSelf-DrivingAutonomous VehiclesShenzhenTaxi
8 comments
Paul Ridden
Paul Ridden
While Paul is loath to reveal his age, he will admit to cutting his IT teeth on a TRS-80 (although he won't say which version). An obsessive fascination with computer technology blossomed from hobby into career before hopping over to France for 10 years, where he started work for New Atlas in 2009. Now back in his native Blighty, he serves as Managing Editor in Europe.

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8 comments
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A happy end to inane conversations with cabbies.
Nelson Hyde Chick
Technology, giving one man the abilities of a thousand men while making those thousand obsolete.
guzmanchinky
I am very excited for this driverless future.
S Redford
I'd rather have the 'inane conversation' and the knowledge that genuine intelligence is at the wheel and far better equipped to deal with the unknown unknowns! Apart from this, why on earth do the Chinese, or any other nation, see the need to 'de-man', dumb-down and anonymise the world any more than it already is - jobs of many different skill/knowledge levels are needed to distribute wealth and provide value amongst the population rather than concentrating it in the hands of a few nerds. Thankfully, insurance claims will probably bring this technology to its knees in the near future along with flying cars and lots of other 'technological advances'. The real value behind this type of development is far more sinister whey you observe the drive towards autonomous vehicles of all sorts and put this in a military context - something to be a lot less excited about.
bwana4swahili
Technology rolls on...
bkwanab
As more and more automation replaces manual labor it becomes more and more important for governments to start to implement Universal Minimum Wages to avoid massive economic depression.
WB
meanwhile waymo who spent billions on this was the leader ... are fading into obscurity
ClaudioB
I'm an expat and I live and drive my own car in South China.
I cannot see driverless cars being ubiquitous over here in the near future, due to the "creative driving" habits the locals have.
Starting from the crappy lessons they get while learning driving on the road, they end up "lost" among all other cars and they try to survive while being slow and resulting in unpredictable behavior.
It is a constant challenge to drive on motorways as well on secondary roads, no one checks the mirrors and seldom turns on the blinkers, not to mention all the scooters and electric bikes zooming around in the night, with no lights, merrily going the wrong way.
Good luck to the AI navigating this constantly changing scenario... on the other end, if/once it'll work here, the technology will be ready for most of the rest of the world, no sweat!