Shenzhen and Guangzhou, two of Guangdong’s megacities, issued their first licenses for urban high-level assistant driving maps with Baidu. The company is among the first batch to be issued the permit.
Baidu obtaining its license means that Baidu Map will help automakers to mass produce intelligent vehicles equipped with urban navigation on pilot functions, realizing intelligent assisted driving, integrating parking, high-speed and urban scenarios on roads, according to a release the company issued Monday.
High-precision mapping is one of the important infrastructures to realize autonomous driving. The issuance also marked the commencement of wide application of high-precision maps for advanced assisted autonomous driving.
At present, the navigation on pilot function is available on highways and urban expressways in some cities in China.
This August, the General Office of China’s Ministry of Natural Resources issued a notice on the pilot application of high-precision maps for intelligent connected vehicles, which approved demonstration application of high-precision maps in the first batch of six cities, including Guangzhou and Shenzhen.
Baidu has formed mass production cooperation with GAC Motor, Changan Auto, Honda, Great Wall Motor, Geely, BAIC Group and many other automakers.
Baidu has conducted R&D related to autonomous vehicles since 2013 and set up its Apollo autonomous driving division in 2017. By the end of 2020, Baidu Apollo had already transported 210,000 passengers with its autonomous vehicles, according to the company. It plans to have 3,000 robotaxis and 3 million users in 30 cities by 2024.