Chinese technology company Baidu Inc has unveiled its first Level 5 (L5) fully autonomous driving vehicle this week at the company’s annual World Conference in Beijing.
The internet giant also announced an upgraded autonomous driving service platform which it named Luobo Kuaipao, as part of its efforts to speed up the process of making autonomous driving technology commercially viable.
The new L5 autonomous car has no steering wheel and pedals and features automated gull-wing doors and a transparent glass roof, all integrated with external sensors. The interior features zero-gravity seats and a large curved intelligent display and control pad.
Speaking at the conference, the company’s co-founder and CEO Robin Li suggested that “cars of the future will be robocars”, which he says will have the following capabilities: L5 autonomous driving; voice and facial recognition capability; the ability to analyse potential needs of users and proactively offer related services; and self-learning and continuous self-improvement abilities.
Baidu also launched the Kunlun II second-generation artificial intelligence-powered chip, which it says can process huge amounts of data – a key requirement of self-driving vehicles.