Chinese web giant Baidu unveils Level 4 robo-taxi that costs $75k to make
Chinese tech giant Baidu and state-owned BAIC Group's ARCFOX Brand have teamed to build 1000 autonomous electric vehicles (EVs) for use as taxis over the next three years — and claim they’ve cut manufacturing costs to just $75,000 apiece.
The announcement claims the reasonable price is due to maturation in technology and mass production capabilities and makes the vehicle, called the Apollo Moon, only one third of the cost of average L4 autonomous vehicles.
Apollo Moon has a projected operating cycle of over five years and is built on the fully electric midsize crossover SUV, Arcfox α-T. As for the tech, it uses the ANP-Robotaxi navigation platform, which is currently in pilot. Baidu claims the architecture can “reduce the weight of autonomous vehicle kits while sharing intelligent driving vehicle data to create a closed-loop information ecosystem.”
The robo-taxi uses an assortment of sensors, 13 cameras, customised LiDAR and supports 5G remote driving service and V2X (vehicle to anything) technology, which means the vehicle can communicate with all manner of electronic devices. It also has an AI voice assistant, climate control via app, intelligent doors and an electronic display attached to the sunroof so riders can spot their taxi.
