The original intention of the birth of new technologies is to improve people’s quality of life. Do you still remember the self-driving technology that was so hyped a few years ago? Although the technology has been continuously improved over the years, it is still some distance away from the actual application stage. However, Baidu still gave the general public an early experience of the thrill of driverless cars through a trial operation on April 19. Of course, the emergence of this technology has undoubtedly caused a big blow to the traditional taxi industry. Even if the upgrade has not come as fast as imagined, intelligent public transportation is the general trend.
As the first batch of self-driving online ride-hailing services for the masses in China, Baidu has set strict standards for vehicles. In this trial operation, 45 self-driving cars were put into operation in Yuelu District, Changsha City. Although the online car-hailing car driven by a human is said to be a driverless car, for safety reasons, there are actually two staff members in the car who are responsible for monitoring vehicle information in real time. Of course, the vehicle must still run automatically, so the number of passengers is only two. The operating hours are 9:30~16:20. More importantly, this experience is free within 130km!
As for the experience, according to feedback from test riders, the vehicle drives very smoothly. There is a display screen behind the front seats to display the visual roadbed, and the vehicle speed can be flexibly adjusted according to road conditions. However, this self-driving car also has certain limitations in some aspects. The most obvious one is that once the destination is set, it cannot be changed because the car’s movement trajectory is limited to fixed sites. Compared with Didi’s anytime There is a big difference in the experience of changing the destination at any time, but the two are not essentially the same concept. I hope Baidu can improve it in the future.
This also raises a new question, that is, will driverless technology make drivers unemployed? The answer is no, there is no need to worry too much about this issue in the short term. Although driverless driving makes people's future travel bright, it is difficult to operate in practice. In comparison, the technical difficulty is negligible. The first thing to overcome is undoubtedly the laws and regulations. According to my country's "Regulations on Application and Use of Motor Vehicle Driving Licenses" and "Road Traffic Safety Law", there are many instructions on the driving of motor vehicles. The driver is a human being, not a machine. From this point of view, the role of Baidu's staff in car maintenance may be to make a sideline.
In other words, the driver of Baidu’s self-driving car this time actually activated the car’s self-driving function, which is far from the scene we imagined. Of course, the problems to be solved next are far more than legal. The regulations are so simple. According to Baidu, the normal driving of these vehicles not only relies on their own sensors, but also is assisted by auxiliary equipment on the road. This technology, called V2X, can be interconnected with the vehicle's control system to provide the vehicle with more detailed road information. If this technology is to be commercialized, the road sensing setup will also cost a lot of money.
Currently, more and more companies are joining the field of driverless online ride-hailing, including the well-known Didi, but everyone is facing the same problem. Perhaps with the development of the law in the future, Perfect, driverless cars can be operated through the console, closer to the ideal state, but the security of such software needs to be tested to avoid hacker intrusions.
In summary, we will not see a truly complete driverless online ride-hailing service in the short term. But opportunities always come to those who are prepared. The efforts of major domestic technology companies have also made our country's driverless technology among the best in the world. After all, we cannot give up the pursuit of technological travel in the future. We believe that a successful day will come sooner or later.
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This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.