The Apolong (), sometimes referred to as the Baidu Apollo project, is a
driverless vehicle developed by
Baidu
Baidu, Inc. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet services and artificial intelligence. It holds a dominant position in China's search engine market (via Baidu Search), and provides a wide variety of o ...
, Kinglong and a consortium of more than 40 companies.
The Level 4 microcirculation Apolong bus commenced mass production in 2017.
It is manufactured by a consortium consisting of Baidu, Kinglong and SB Drive (a subsidiary of
Softbank
is a Japanese multinational Investment company, investment holding company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, that focuses on investment management. The group primarily invests in companies operating in technology that offer goods and services ...
). The driverless bus does not have a steering wheel, accelerator or brake, travels at speeds of 20 to 40 km/h and is able to sense and predict movement of pedestrians and vehicles in its vicinity.
It uses Apollo 3.0, Baidu's open source driverless operating platform.
The name ''Apollo'' is an English version of the Chinese name for the bus "Apolong".
History
In 2013, Baidu commenced development of autonomous driverless vehicles, through the baidu research institute. This project gradually expanded to including 10,000 developers working on an open platform, and more than 50 partners across the world, including
Intel
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company headquartered in Santa Clara, California, and Delaware General Corporation Law, incorporated in Delaware. Intel designs, manufactures, and sells computer compo ...
,
BMW
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, trading as BMW Group (commonly abbreviated to BMW (), sometimes anglicised as Bavarian Motor Works), is a German multinational manufacturer of vehicles and motorcycles headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Th ...
,
Benz, Kinglong and
XTE. On 5 July 2017, Bloomberg reported that Baidu had negotiated 50 partners to sign in for the development and purchase of the new unmanned buses.
In 2017, China Daily reported that four Apolong buses were planned for test rides on two bus routes in
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
. In August 2017, an early version of the autonomous vehicle was unveiled at GoMentum, USA. In July 2018, at Baidu Createfest 2018 held in Beijing, Baidu and King Long unveiled the latest version of Apolong. They announced plans of using these buses in specific regions of
Wuhan
Wuhan; is the capital of Hubei, China. With a population of over eleven million, it is the most populous city in Hubei and the List of cities in China by population, eighth-most-populous city in China. It is also one of the nine National cent ...
,
Xiamen
Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...
,
Shenzhen
Shenzhen is a prefecture-level city in the province of Guangdong, China. A Special economic zones of China, special economic zone, it is located on the east bank of the Pearl River (China), Pearl River estuary on the central coast of Guangdong ...
,
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
, and Pingtan. In July 2018, China org reported that test drives had been carried out in
Chongqing
ChongqingPostal Romanization, Previously romanized as Chungking ();. is a direct-administered municipality in Southwestern China. Chongqing is one of the four direct-administered municipalities under the State Council of the People's Republi ...
and Fujian.
In July 2018,
Xinhua
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: ),J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English or New China News Agency, is the official State media, state news agency of the China, People's Republic ...
and New Atlas reported that the buses had commenced mass production as the 100th Apolong bus was rolled out.
The bus was first opened to an international audience in November 2018 at the
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
World Expo, where 1600 participants from 72 countries were ushered to the venue in Apolong buses.
Specifications
Apolong buses can carry 14 people (8 seated and 6 standing), are guided through cloud technology, have a wheel span of 4.3 metres, are SAE level 4 capable. It uses the Kunlun microchip developed by Baidu.
Production locations
As of November 2018, Apolong buses are assembled in Kinglong's manufacturing premises in
Xiamen
Xiamen,), also known as Amoy ( ; from the Zhangzhou Hokkien pronunciation, zh, c=, s=, t=, p=, poj=Ē͘-mûi, historically romanized as Amoy, is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Stra ...
,
Fujian
Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...
.
See also
*
Vehicular automation#Shared autonomous vehicles
References
{{reflist, 30em
External links
Official website – Apollo self driving cars and buses
2010s cars
Self-driving cars