Robotaxi

Apollo Go, tech company Baidu’s robotaxi service, has received a permit to offer fully-driverless rides in Beijing, expanding its autonomous ride-hailing service to three major cities in China. Following the awarded permit, Baidu is now the first company in the entire world to offer fully-driverless rides to the over 21 million residents in China’s capital city.

Robotaxi developer Waymo announced that this past January, it surpassed 1 million miles of autonomous driving with no human present in the vehicle. Waymo competitor Cruise also recently reached the autonomous milestone, but Waymo has also publicly shared the data to back up its progress. As previously teased last year, Waymo is also now officially testing driverless rides in Los Angeles.

Autonomous robotaxi developer Zoox has announced two major milestones this month as it inches closer to a full launch to the general public. All without a driver … or pedals … or even a steering wheel. The Amazon subsidiary has shared footage of its Zoox branded robotaxis navigating public roads for the first time in California following an approved testing permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

Multinational automaker Stellantis announced it is expanding upon a previous partnership with Archer Aviation, adding its manufacturing experience to aid in producing the latter company’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. Named “Midnight,” this eVTOL is now planned to be mass produced on US soil.

A report filed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) this week has opened another investigation into GM’s robotaxi company Cruise. According to the filing, the NHTSA has received multiple reports of Cruise’s autonomous EVs blocking roadways and stopping abruptly, causing accidents with other drivers on roads.

Just over a month after officially launching its G9 SUV in China, XPeng Motors has announced its latest EV has received a permit for autonomous driving tests on public roads. According to the Chinese automaker, the G9 is the first unmodified, mass-produced commercial vehicle to qualify for such tests and is on its way to implementing an XPeng robotaxi network in the future.

XPeng completed its fourth annual 1024 Tech Day in China today, highlighting several of its latest technological breakthroughs in electric mobility. The presentation included several advancements in autonomous driving, robotic animals, and self-evolving AI platforms. Additionally, XPeng Inc. shared that its sixth generation eVTOL – the closest thing we’ve seen to an actual flying car – completed its maiden flight. Lots to unfold here, so let’s get started.

Rideshare provider Uber has signed a 10-year, multi-market commercial agreement with Motional – a developer of driverless robotaxis. As part of the agreement, Uber will deploy Motional’s IONIQ 5 electric robotaxis in select markets at first, with the potential to reach millions of customers by providing both ride-hailing and delivery services autonomously.

SAIC AI Lab, a division of SAIC Motor in China, has announced a collaboration with advanced driverless AI developer Pony.ai to design and implement a new fleet of driverless level 4 autonomous robotaxis. The companies kicked off their new project by unveiling a fully autonomous EV concept from which the fleet will be built.

General Motors’ self-driving rideshare service Cruise announced that it has recalled 80 of its electric robotaxis in order to update their software following an accident in June that injured two people. The NHTSA stated that the software issue caused the self-driving Cruise vehicles to “incorrectly predict” oncoming vehicle’s paths, adding risk for collisions.

During its Baidu World 2022 technology conference today, the Chinese technology company unveiled its sixth-generation fully-autonomous vehicle – the Apollo RT6. With a detachable steering wheel, Baidu has created a production-ready EV with Level 4 autonomous driving capability that is expected to join the Apollo Go robotaxi fleet next year.

Autonomous driving developer Pony.ai announced it has received a license to operate its self-driving taxis in China, the first company to achieve the permit. Pony.ai will soon have 100 robotaxis in operation throughout Nansha, Guangzhou, charging riders fares alongside traditional taxis.

Motional, alongside Hyundai Motor Group, has shared the first image of its next-generation robotaxi based around the Ioniq 5 EV. The Ioniq 5 robotaxi, as it is being called, will be used in completely driverless public ride services beginning in 2023.

Driverless tech company Motional announced the expansion of its West Coast operations, including public road testing of its next-generation robotaxi in Los Angeles under an agreement with Lyft. Motional has also opened a Bay Area office for Compute Design.

Chinese automotive design and manufacturing company SAIC Motor says it will launch 40 to 60 Robotaxis capable of Level 4 self-driving throughout Shanghai and Suzhou before the end of 2021. The bold statement was made by Zu Sijie, vice president and chief engineer of the company, during this year’s World Artificial Intelligence Conference.

WeRide resumes robotaxi service in China with extreme precautions to keep riders and drivers safe after COVID-19.
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