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SILICON
RUSH - Self driving trucks for freeway haulage logistics is all the
rage at the moment for investors looking for the latest digital gold rush. Zoox,
Cruise,
Kodiak,
Momenta,
Navya,
joins Pony.ai,
Pronto.ai,
Didi
Chuxing, Waymo, Aurora,
TuSimple
and AutoX
as they look for the elusive holy grail of AI on the road, somewhat blowing
wildcard Tesla
into the weeds. You can read more about these companies and the media
coverage, and reviews, on this site. Even with the green
hydrogen
revolution taking place all over the world, there is as yet no energy
vending system for these autonomous vehicles. It's competition as usual, in
a world calling for collaboration.
Self-driving cars and trucks
may drive themselves, but development is driven by economics. They are forecast to grow exponentially in the next two decades. How we deliver goods, the ownership of personal vehicles, ridesharing, public transportation – these all will take new shapes as
self-navigating
electric vehicles (AEVs) accelerate.
Cities, utilities, industry players and policymakers are quickly scaling to deliver on
AEVs, which promise to be safer, faster, more cost-effective, and cleaner for our health and environment than yesterday’s mobility systems.
ITS INTERNATIONAL 14 MAY 2021 - BAIDU EMPLOYS UNMANNED ROBOTAXIS IN CHINA
Baidu Apollo is now offering autonomous robotaxi services in the Chinese city of Beijing without a safety driver behind the steering wheel.
The driverless Apollo Go Robotaxi service is operating in Beijing’s Shougang Park – one of the venues for the 2022 Beijing Winter
Olympics – and will soon be transporting visitors at the games.
The robotaxis will be able to transport users to sports halls, work areas, coffee shops and hotels. During the upcoming Winter Olympics, the Apollo robotaxis will be available to provide shuttle services for athletes and staff.
Riders can use the Apollo Go app to locate and hail a robotaxi ride through a system of unmanned self-service processes.
Features including virtual reality navigation and remote car honking can help users to identify the location of the car.
To unlock the vehicles, users are required to scan a QR code and health code on the car for identity verification and pandemic prevention purposes.
SMOG
CITY - Driverless robotaxis have been launched in Beijing in what is an industry first for the autonomous vehicle sector, as Baidu hopes to have a fully operational driverless taxi service in place for the 2022 Winter Olympic Games.
Baidu has launched its autonomous taxi service in Beijing, which it says will be China’s first paid autonomous vehicle service where users can hail a robotaxi without a safety driver behind the steering wheel. The fully driverless Apollo Go Robotaxi service has first been launched in Beijing’s Shougang Park – one of the venues for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics – and will soon be transporting visitors at the games.
By using the Apollo Go App, users can locate a robotaxi in the vicinity and hail a driverless ride through an automated system. Baidu says virtual reality navigation as well as remote-controlled car horns will help users to identify the location of the car. To unlock the autonomous vehicles, users are required to scan a QR code and health code on the car for identity verification and pandemic prevention purposes.
Upon boarding the vehicle and clicking on the “Start the Journey” button, the system will ensure that seat belts are fastened and the doors are shut, with the trip only beginning after all the passenger safety protocol checks are completed. With no safety driver at the helm, a 5G Remote Driving Service is present at all times to allow human operators to remotely access the vehicles in the case of exceptional emergencies.
At Beijing Shougang Park, the robotaxis will be able to transport users to sports halls, work areas, coffee shops and hotels. During the upcoming Winter Olympics, Baidu says the Apollo robotaxis will be available to provide shuttle services for athletes and staff.
“Introducing unmanned services is an indispensable stage for the commercialisation of autonomous driving. We have opened the fully driverless robotaxi service in Beijing for the public, which we achieved only after conducting countless scalable driverless tests in many cities over a long period of time,”
said Yunpeng Wang, vice president and general manager of autonomous driving technology at
Baidu. Beijing is well know for the carcinogenic smog that envelopes the
city on hot days.
As the passenger clicks on the 'Start the Journey' button, the system will ensure that seat belts are fastened and the doors are shut. The 5G Remote Driving Service is present at all times to allow human operators to remotely access the vehicles in the case of emergencies.
Baidu vice president Yunpeng Wang says: “Introducing unmanned services is an indispensable stage for the commercialisation of autonomous driving.”
“In the future, Baidu Apollo will launch driverless robotaxis in more
[smart] cities, enabling the public to access greener, low-carbon, and convenient travel services, while continuing to improve the unmanned service process and user experience,” he continues.
“The commercialisation of autonomous driving can alleviate congestion effectively and help to reach the peak
carbon dioxide emissions and achieve carbon neutrality in
China.”
By Ben Spencer
RECHARGING UNMANNED EVS
FOR SMARTER CITIES
At the moment, the only system
that would be capable of servicing such robotic
vehicles would be the proposed SmartNet™
dual fuel service stations, where such vehicles do not need human assistance to replenish their energy
reserves, using modular
energy vending, where blue is the new green,
helping to cool our climate.
This assumes compatibility with a cartridge
(pack) based energy transfer system.
Allied to this is PAYD
(Pay As You
Drive) billing, also seen as a necessary function for autonomous,
unmanned,
self-driving, robotic
vehicles, is helping to make the
world a better place.
LINKS
& REFERENCE
https://www.baidu.com/
https://www.itsinternational.com/its6/its7/news/baidu-deploys-unmanned-robotaxis-china
https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-news/123764/beijing-robotaxis/
https://www.intelligenttransport.com/transport-news/123764/beijing-robotaxis/
https://www.baidu.com/
https://www.itsinternational.com/its6/its7/news/baidu-deploys-unmanned-robotaxis-china
UNMANNED ELECTRIC VEHICLES
THE AUTOMATED and ELECTRIC VEHICLES ACT 2018
SMART
SERVICING FOR ROBOT VEHICLES - Those looking for a future proofed infrastructure for
renewably sourced energy for electric vehicles, may want to consider the new
breed of self driving passenger cars, taxis, and commercial trucks that will benefit from automated
recharging if they are to be fully autonomous in operation - most especially
unmanned robotic taxis and freight vehicles. These units are potentially
safer in terms of hydrogen handling, than piped gas, offering an alternative
energy network.
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