The official launch of the 100th Apollon not only demonstrates China's scientific and technological strength, but also raises the high concern of our neighbors in Japan. Today, the Japanese mainstream media "Japan Economic News" published in its official website Asian economic sector titled 'Baidu launched In the article, "Nihon Keizai Shimbun" quoted a Japanese automaker executive as saying that the Apollo platform is a 'real threat'.
"Nihon Keizai Shimbun" said that Li Yanhong, chairman and CEO of Baidu, pointed out in his speech that Apollon's Level 4 autopilot technology means that under certain conditions, vehicles can operate under unsupervised conditions. A technology is only lower than the level of the vehicle known as Level 5, which is fully automated. The Apollo platform is one of the world's leading technology platforms.
'Apolon' has a body length of 4.3 meters, a width of 2 meters, a total of 8 seats, a nuclear load of 14 people (including 6 stations), pure electric power, maximum speed of 40km / h, the maximum cruising range of 100 kilometers. 'Apolon' has subverted the traditional car concept in design, and newly built a new form of electrification, electronic and intelligent. It is the first prototype car without steering wheel, without throttle and without brake pedal. It is equipped with laser radar before and after. , Ultrasonic radar and other sensors, so it will not be like a person 'opening a small difference', can continuously monitor the road surface, surrounding objects, with traffic flow judgment, road sign recognition, obstacle avoidance and other capabilities.
In addition, Baidu also announced that it will enter into a strategic cooperation agreement with SB Drive, an autopilot subsidiary of Japan's telecommunications and media leader Softbank Co., Ltd., with the goal of bringing 10 Apollon buses to Japan by the end of 2019. Bearing test.
It is reported that Baidu and SB Drive have previously invested in the field of autonomous driving. The cooperation between the two parties aims to integrate their systems into a bus model and start testing from the end of this year. Xiamen Jinlong United Automotive Industry Co., Ltd. Will be responsible for the production of these buses.
SB Drive plans to fully realize the commercial application of driverless buses in some areas such as Haneda Airport in 2020. This agreement means that China's self-driving vehicles will go abroad for the first time and officially log on to overseas markets.
But the news that Apolon’s landing on the Japanese islands has also caused unease among Japanese automakers. A Japanese automaker’s executives said that for the Japanese auto industry and Japan’s driverless industry, the Apollo platform is’ The real threat'.
In contrast, in Japan, the local driverless car industry. In 2016, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe personally assumed the “Japan IT Integrated Strategy Headquarters”, which officially formulated the “Automatic Driving Popularization Roadmap”. According to the “road map”, the Japanese government will In 2020, unmanned passenger vehicles will be allowed to land on some areas. In line with the implementation of the "road map", road trials in overpopulated areas and suburbs will be launched in 2017, Japan's "Road Traffic Law" and "Road Transportation Vehicles". Laws and other regulations will also be revised.
Japan has built the world's leading transportation infrastructure. In order to maintain its leading position in the field of intelligent transportation, according to the Cabinet's 2013 “Creating the World's Most Advanced IT National Declaration”, the Japan Road Traffic Committee and the Japan Information and Communication Strategy Committee jointly proposed Japan. The commercialization schedule of self-driving cars, and the ITS 2014-2030 technology development roadmap. It is planned to officially launch autonomous driving in a certain driving environment such as highways in 2020 and implement driverless driving in certain areas. On all highways in 2025 Automated driving and allowing truck companies to build self-driving freight fleets, eventually building the safest and smoothest road in the world by 2030.
In order to achieve the ambitious goals set by the Japanese government, Japanese automakers are also intensively developing their own driverless technology. Toyota, Honda, Renault-Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors have launched their own homes. driving skills.
Some commentators said that as Japan's aging is accelerating, Japanese automakers are accelerating the development of autonomous vehicles to expand the potential huge market for older consumers. Many Japanese automakers are moving in this direction, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics It will probably be an opportunity for Japanese automakers to achieve mass production of their self-driving cars.
In addition, there is news that Honda has joined the Baidu Apollo platform to share the existing research results of unmanned technology. Together with Honda are Ford, Hyundai, Daimler Group, Jaguar Land Rover, BYD, Microsoft, 116 eco-partners such as Intel have opened more than 220,000 lines of code, and more than 10,000 developers recommend Apollo's open code. Apollo has released a Valet Parking, an unmanned trolley ( MicroCar), MiniBus three automatic driving solutions. Apollo also brings more diverse intelligent simulations, launching the industry's first real-world AR simulation, providing a full stack of virtual traffic flow combined with real-life rendering A closed-loop simulation solution that helps developers implement simulation tests for 'million kilometers'.
In the face of such a strong opponent, it is no wonder that the executives of Japanese car companies will be nervous.