China-based autonomous vehicle company, WeRide, has launched the pilot phase of its self-driving taxis in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province.
The autonomous vehicles, dubbed RoboTaxi, were introduced to roads within a 144 square kilometer radius in Guangzhou.
This is the controlled area in which WeRide’s vehicles are fully autonomous.
WeRide’s RoboTaxis have achieved “Level 4(L4)” autonomy, meaning they are capable of successfully driving on their own in adverse conditions (such as Guangzhou).
Guangzhou is one of China’s most congested cities; it is chock-filled with bikes, pedestrians and cars, all of which are in constant conflict with each other. According to Quartz, it is not uncommon for cars to sometimes go against the traffic.
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Passengers in the area can order one of the RoboTaxi’s via WeRide’s app, “WeRideGo.”
WeRide, which also has operations in Silicon Valley, is the first Chinese driving tech firm to receive significant investment from Alliance Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi.
WeRide previously went by the name Jingchi. It was founded by two former execs of search giant Baidu.
WeRide CEO, Tony Han said the firm aims to launch autonomous taxis in the coming year.
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