Baidu Unveils Major Advancements to the Apollo Intelligent Driving Ecosystem at CES 2019

• Baidu introduces Apollo Enterprise, a newly branded suite of intelligent driving solutions for mass production vehicles
  
  
  
  
• Apollo 3.5 is the latest and most sophisticated iteration of Baidu’s open autonomous driving platform, now supporting complex urban and suburban driving environments
  
  
  
  
• Baidu will launch 100 robo-taxis, which will operate in Changsha on 130 miles of city roads equipped with Baidu’s V2X (vehicle to everything) technology in 2019

BEIJING, Jan. 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) has continued its mission of accelerating the development of autonomous driving since its initial launch of the Apollo platform. As of today, the platform has grown into one of the largest autonomous driving ecosystems in the world, bringing together over 130 global partners and used by over 12,000 developers and partners worldwide.

In addition, Baidu introduces today Apollo Enterprise, a new commercial brand for a suite of customizable intelligent driving products and solutions for mass production vehicles. The release of Apollo Enterprise is well-timed, as the industry matures from intelligent driving R&D to production and commercialization.

Apollo Enterprise

Baidu Apollo Enterprise, a suite of intelligent driving products and solutions for mass production vehicles, is scalable, safe, and highly customizable based on enterprise customer needs. Apollo Enterprise solutions support vehicle and information safety and can be upgraded via OTA (Over-the-Air Programing).

Apollo Enterprise solutions are fast to implement and customizable based on customer needs, while also providing comprehensive support for vehicle and information safety. Enterprise clients will also receive dedicated service from Baidu support teams. The five main Apollo Enterprise products and solutions are: 1)Highway autonomous driving solutions; 2) Autonomous valet parking solutions; 3) Fully autonomous driving minibus solutions; 4)Intelligent map data service platform, with options for commercial, ADAS, and high-definition maps; 5)DuerOS for Apollo, a set of AI-based IoV solutions, with voice assistant, augmented reality, and motion detection capabilities. Baidu is collaborating with global and national auto brands to deploy these solutions in production vehicles, including Ford, Chery, BYD, Kyundai Kia, Great Wall, and WM Motor.

“With the key development of Apollo Enterprise, Baidu Apollo expands from an open technology platform to a leading product and service provider for autonomous driving and connected vehicles. We’re excited to join hands with each and every Apollo Enterprise client to create safe, customizable, and scalable solutions to accelerate the commercialization of intelligent driving and enhance the mobility experience for everyone,” said Ya-Qin Zhang, President of Baidu.

Apollo 3.5

Baidu continues its rapid development with the introduction of Apollo 3.5, the newest and most powerful Apollo release yet. Apollo 3.5 is the first open source autonomous driving platform that can perform in complex urban and suburban driving scenarios. The new release unlocks the tools developers need to create reliable self-driving mobility solutions such as robo-taxis and autonomous delivery services.

udelv, a California-based autonomous delivery van company, is one example of companies leveraging Apollo 3.5 to develop its own autonomous driving solutions. At CES 2019, udelv announced up to 100 ADVs, which have been developed on the Apollo 3.5 software platform, and will be deployed this year in several US locations, including the San Francisco Bay Area.

The latest Apollo update includes new driving capabilities, such as the ability to manage unprotected turns, speed bumps, clear zones, side passes, narrow lanes, and autonomous parking.

One of the biggest innovations of Apollo 3.5 lies in its brand-new high-performance runtime framework: the Apollo Cyber RT framework – the industry’s first open source autonomous driving framework compatible with the development of production-grade autonomous driving systems.

Apollo 3.5 is now compatible with the most advanced suite of sensors currently available on the market, such as Velodyne VLS-128 LiDAR.

Open Source V2X and Robo-taxis

Smart infrastructure will enable faster and safer deployment of autonomous vehicles. In addition to advancing autonomous driving technology, it is just as important to develop sophisticated communication capabilities between vehicles and their environment. Which is why Baidu announced today it has open sourced its V2X solutions at CES.

Apollo V2X terminal software and reference hardware will create synergetic interactions between smart cars and intelligent roadways to improve safety and mitigate traffic congestion. Under this system autonomous vehicles will be able to better communicate with traffic lights.

In 2019, 100 robo-taxis will operate on 130 miles of city roads equipped with Baidu’s V2X technology in Changsha, the capital city of Hunan province in the south-central part of China. The fleet will be China’s first group of autonomous driving taxis managed by Baidu’s V2X system, a comprehensive solution that integrates smart vehicles and intelligent road infrastructure for safer deployment of autonomous cars.

About Baidu 

Baidu, Inc. is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. Baidu aims to make a complex world simpler through technology. Baidu's ADSs trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "BIDU". Currently, ten ADSs represent one Class A ordinary share.

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