Chhavideep Singh
Source: TechCrunch
AutoX is Asia’s largest provider of advanced driver-less, self-driving technology which operates with an aim to make self-driving vehicles accessible to everyone.
Well, in recent activity, AutoX deployed a fleet of self-driving “robotaxis” on the streets of Shenzhen, China for the first time to test out completely driverless cars without remote operators or even safety drivers.
Advancements in technology have taken a great leap and AutoX is finally successful to build this future-tech. However, there are still many doubts bubbling in my head regarding the safety of passengers if there are no safety-drivers involved or even remote operators.
According to reports, AutoX has done a pretty amazing job with this tech-set-up, the “robotaxis” are equipped with AutoX’s 5th generation autonomous self-driving technology and the vehicle is fitted with an ultra-high-resolution camera system, a pair of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) scanners, sensors for blind-spot detection and a couple of 4D sensors. All of these high-tech systems are combined to give an ideal safety assurance.
It is also noteworthy that AutoX had already obtained a permit, five-months back from the California DMV- Department of Motor Vehicles to test these ‘robotaxis’ on the roads of Shenzhen.
It is absolutely needless to say but knowing about this permit would definitely give passengers a safety assurance whenever in the future the company decides to roll it out for the public.
In order to showcase their breakthrough technology, AutoX also released a video sharing how the robotaxi drives around and navigates through a loading truck and takes an effortless U-turn without any human intervention on the rods of Shenzhen’s downtown area.
AutoX is backed by Alibaba considering the amount of potential it has based on its future-tech.
Furthermore, the company mentions that there is no time-table set for as to when these robotaxis will be available for the local public of China. It says, the fleet was a showcase of the future technology but there is still scope for improvement. This tech is still relatively new and on a trial basis, the company mentions in a statement.
Source: Green Car Congress
Analysts say that this is still a bold move to deploy driver-less, self-driving cars on roads; it could be a strategic move to create hype or to perceive the public’s reaction to this new technology. It is hard to trust the technology when other competitors in the market are offering self-driving cars but either with safety driver or remote operators.
Jianxiong Xiao, CEO, AutoX expresses his gratitude in a statement mentioning how this is a dream come true that after years of hard work, their tech is futuristic enough for them to feel confident in removing the safety driver.