The city of Yangquan in north China’s Shanxi Province on Friday issued a license to Baidu for the commercial operation of unmanned autonomous driving services — the first license of its kind issued in the country.
“That means a safety supervisor is no longer required in the driver’s seat in Baidu’s autonomous vehicles operating in designated areas of the city,” said Nie Yuren, general manager of Baidu Intelligent Driving Business Group Solutions. The license also allows for fare collection.
Baidu launched its autonomous driving research and development in 2013 and has carried out road tests in nearly 30 Chinese cities.
China is zooming ahead with its technological and digitalisation vision, the country is already leading in various innovative solution with regional peers now looking at the nation for their digital guidance.
