Skip to main content

Baidu autonomous car reaches milestone in Beijing

An autonomous car developed by Chinese language Internet search provider Baidu has successfully completed rigorous, fully autonomous tests on one route with mixed roads under a variety of environmental conditions, says the company. The Baidu autonomous car is the first in China to have demonstrated full autonomy under mixed road conditions, marking a milestone in China's autonomous driving effort. The road tests were carried out under complex road conditions, and the Baidu vehicle, a modified BMW 3 Serie
December 11, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
An autonomous car developed by Chinese language Internet search provider Baidu has successfully completed rigorous, fully autonomous tests on one route with mixed roads under a variety of environmental conditions, says the company.

The Baidu autonomous car is the first in China to have demonstrated full autonomy under mixed road conditions, marking a milestone in China's autonomous driving effort. The road tests were carried out under complex road conditions, and the Baidu vehicle, a modified BMW 3 Series, completed the tests by executing a comprehensive set of driving actions and accurately responding to the driving environment.

Baidu claims the car demonstrated full autonomy on the entirety of the 30 kilometre test route and successfully executed driving actions including making right turns, left turns and U-turns, decelerating when detecting vehicles ahead, changing lanes, passing other cars and merging into traffic from on-ramps and exiting from off-ramps. The car speed peaked at 100 km per hour during the test runs.

Baidu AutoBrain, the core of Baidu's autonomous driving technology, includes highly automated driving (HAD) maps, positioning, detection, smart decision-making and control.

Baidu's self-developed HAD maps record 3D road data to within a few centimetres of accuracy of vehicle positioning. With Baidu's leading object recognition and environment perception technology, the car can detect, recognise, and follow other vehicles with high accuracy; recognise road lanes; and accurately gauge distance and velocity.

"Fully autonomous driving under mixed road conditions is universally challenging, with complexity further heightened by Beijing's road conditions and unpredictable driver behaviour," said Wang Jing, SVP of Baidu and general manager of Baidu's newly established Autonomous Driving Business Unit.

Related Content

  • September 23, 2020
    Baidu launches Beijing robotaxis
    Company is also bringing V2X and connected road tech to Guangzhou
  • September 2, 2016
    Baidu to test autonomous cars in California
    Baidu, which earlier this year announced the formation of an autonomous driving team in the US, Baidu USA, is to begin testing its autonomous technologies in California. The California Department of Motor Vehicles awarded the company an Autonomous Vehicle Testing Permit earlier this week.
  • July 7, 2017
    Baidu boss under investigation for travelling in self-driving car
    The CEO of Chinese search engine and mapping service, Baidu, is reportedly under police investigation following reports that he took one of the company’s self-driving cars to a technology conference.
  • February 18, 2013
    Oxford University develops self-driving car
    Oxford University scientists have developed a self-driving car system that can be installed in existing cars and can cope with snow, rain and other weather conditions. Developed by a team led by Professor Paul Newman at Oxford University, the new system has been installed in a Nissan Leaf electric car and tested on private roads around the university. The car will halt for pedestrians, and could take over the tedious parts of driving such as negotiating traffic jams or regular commutes. The car alerts the