Baidu's robotaxis can now operate without a safety driver in the car

Baidu has secured permits to operate a fully driverless robotaxi service in China. He says it is the first company in the country to obtain such permits. Last April, Baidu received permission to operate a self-driving taxi service in Beijing, provided there is a human operator in the driver or front passenger seat. From now on, it will be able to offer a service where the only occupants of the car will be the passengers.

There are certain limits to permits. The driverless Apollo Go vehicles will carry paying passengers in designated areas in Wuhan and Chongqing during daylight hours only. Service areas cover 13 square kilometers in Wuhan Economic and Technological Development Zone (WHDZ) and 30 square kilometers in Yongchuan District in Chongqing. The WHDZ has been revamped over the past year to support AV testing and operations.

Baidu says its robotaxis have several safety measures to back up key self-driving functions. These include monitoring redundancy, remote driving capability and a security operating system.

This is a significant step forward for Baidu, which is looking to offer large-scale robotaxi services. The company has also been testing its vehicles in the United States for several years and may eventually become a competitor for Waymo and Cruise.

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