Turning dream into reality: Baidu unveils first autonomous robocar

Highlights

• The car has automatic gull-wing doors, intelligent console, zero-gravity seats, all-glass roof, and external sensors. Besides, there is no steering wheel or pedal, the Beijing based company said.
• Baidu plans to start the fully autonomous robocar services in the Chinese capital before expanding to other cities in the next two to three years, the company said in a release.
• Robin Li, the CEO and founder of Baidu, said the vehicle's auto-pilot functionality offers more safety than human-driven vehicles.

Chinese internet search giant Baidu Inc (NASDAQ: BIDU) on Wednesday unveiled its first fully autonomous robocar, Luobo Kuaipao, at its technology conference Baidu World 2021 in Beijing.

The robocar is loaded with high-tech features like L5-level driving capability, face recognition, self-learning, and self-improvement abilities, etc., CEO Robin Li told reporters. The L5 L5-level represents the car's fully autonomous driving capabilities, Li explained.

The car also has automatic gull-wing doors, intelligent console, zero-gravity seats, all-glass roof, and external sensors. Besides, there is no steering wheel or pedal, the Beijing based company said.

China has already launched robo-taxi services in several major municipalities like Beijing, Guangzhou, and Changsha, serving around 400,000 passengers to date.

Baidu plans to start the fully autonomous robocar services in the Chinese capital before expanding to other cities in the next two to three years, the company said in a release.

Li, also the founder of Baidu, said the vehicle's auto-pilot functionality offers more safety than human-driven vehicles. The Luobo Kuaipao doesn't have a seat for the driver. Li said that the AI features installed in the vehicle can help passengers to book air tickets, hotels, etc. The vehicle also can learn to improve itself for various driving scenarios, Li added.

Also Read: Why is Warren Buffett doubling down on Kroger?

Source: Pixabay

Also Read: Top 5 mining stocks to watch amid economic recovery

Baidu Inc's (BIDU) Q2 performance

The Chinese technology giant's total revenue in the second quarter ended June 2021 was US$3.7 billion, an increase of 27 percent year-over-year. However, it reported losses of US$90 million or US$0.26 per share, while the adjusted EBITDA for the quarter was US$1.2 billion, up by 3 percent YoY.

Baidu's operating income jumped by 7 percent year-over-year to US$715 million.

Its market cap is around US$57.3 billion, the P/E ratio is 7.9, and the forward P/E one year is 30.32. The EPS is US$20.89.

The Baidu stock was priced at US$142.96, up 0.41% from the previous close, 4:00 pm ET Wednesday. The stock's 52-week highest and lowest value was US$354.82 and US$115.59, respectively.