Alibaba-backed autonomous driving startup company AutoX has officially launched a pilot program in Shanghai to test its self-driving taxi service. Residents in the city that are already using China's major navigation app AutoNavi will be able to try out the service starting this week up to May 10.
Interested users can sign up for the pilot program using the AutoNavi mobile app. According to AutoX, its self-driving taxi service will be free to residents of Shanghai's Jiading district. The process of booking a self-driving taxi will be similar to hailing a regular taxi using AutoNavi.
The pilot program will be the first phase of AutoX's long-term goal of deploying a large scale fleet of robotic taxis in major metropolitan cities across China. The company previously stated that it plans to roll out its service in cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen during the first half of 2020. Despite the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, AutoX is moving forward with its plans to test out its autonomous driving technologies.
For its fleet of new autonomous driving taxis, AutoX had partnered with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). AutoX integrated its artificial intelligence-based software driver into a Chrysler Pacifica minivan.
The vehicle has been upgraded with a number of autonomous driving tech, including solid-state LiDar sensors, GPS, radars, and AutoX first level-4 autonomous driving platform made specifically for Chinese roads. The vehicles that will be part of the pilot program will be launched from AutoX's Shanghai RoboTaxi Operations Center in Jiading district.
The vehicle itself is fully autonomous and does not require any physical input to get to its destination. However, for its pilot program in Shanghai, a safety employee will be riding inside the vehicle in case of an emergency. AutoX stated that the presence of its employees on all of its vehicles is part of regulatory requirements for the particular testing program.
AutoX founder and CEO, Jianxiong Xiao, previously stated that he has the highest confidence in the company's AI-based driving software. He added that the software is the most experienced driver in terms of navigating China's unique traffic situation. The company utilized massive amounts of real-world data collected over the past couple of years to build the software, which has shown to have adapted to the local driving styles to navigate the country's dynamic urban conditions.
AutoX, which was founded in Silicon Valley in 2016, has formed partnerships with a number of Chinese firms to tap into the country's growing self-driving market. The company, which had received $100 million in A-share financing from Alibaba, is one of the leading developers of Level 4 AI-based autonomous driving software for commercial and industrial mobility solutions.
