Depth report

　　

Chinese Internet giant Baidu (Baidu) and overseas companies finalized the first batch of cooperation agreements on autonomous vehicle systems. This is one of the hottest areas of technology research and development today, and Baidu has invested a lot of effort in this area.

    After announcing on May 31 that it had established a cooperation with Continental, a major auto parts manufacturer, on the development of driverless car technology, Baidu announced on June 1 that it had partnered with Bosch, another major auto parts manufacturer. Bosch) signed a similar cooperation agreement.

    Focusing on the field of self-driving cars means that Baidu will not only compete with other leading Internet companies, including Alphabet, but also with established automakers such as Ford and General Motors.

    When Baidu announced its cooperation with Continental and Bosch, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang was visiting Germany to hold talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other EU leaders.

    China is the world’s largest automotive market. Baidu said that according to its agreement with these two German companies, it will explore and practice corresponding business models, accelerate the commercialization of specific technologies, and provide comprehensive, comprehensive, intelligent transportation with autonomous driving at its core. System and reliable solution.

    Baidu has established partnerships with local Chinese automakers BYD, Chery and BAIC. These manufacturers provide Baidu with vehicles for testing autonomous driving technology in Wuzhen, an ancient town along the river in China.

    The establishment of partnerships with Bosch and Continental shows that Baidu is further advancing its business in the field of self-driving cars-looking for hardware suppliers to supplement its software advantages.

    At the Shanghai Auto Show in April this year, Baidu released a self-driving car platform called "Apollo", claiming that it is an "open, complete and reliable" for partners in the automotive industry and the field of autonomous driving. Software platform. Help them combine vehicles and hardware systems to quickly build a complete set of self-driving systems of their own. "

    The move seems to be inspired by Google's efforts to dominate smartphones, which designed Android as a set of open source tools that other companies can customize.

    Baidu said it will open up its technology in phases. In July, it will share the intellectual property rights of “restricted environment” driving, and then later this year, it will share the technology in simple urban road environments. By 2020, Baidu will provide software with "automatic driving capabilities on highways and open urban roads."

    The open source of automotive technology is not unprecedented: in 2014, electric car manufacturer Tesla (Tesla) provided technical secrets to competitors in an attempt to increase the industry's interest in low-emission vehicles. Baidu is trying to develop autonomous driving technology by establishing partnerships with Chinese automakers such as BAIC and Chery. Baidu has conducted road tests with Lincoln cars in California.

    In terms of artificial intelligence, Baidu is generally regarded as having an advantage over domestic competitors, and is often regarded as a leader similar to IBM and Google.

    "Artificial intelligence has great potential to promote social development, and one of the biggest opportunities for artificial intelligence is smart cars," said Lu Qi, Baidu's chief operating officer, yesterday. However, Baidu suffered a setback last month when some of its most senior talents left.

    According to Mark Natkins of Marbridge Consulting in Beijing, Baidu's open source move is incomprehensible. "People can think of this as an ambition to jump to the forefront of autonomous driving technology," he said.

    But it may also be "a step backwards from a completely self-contained effort." If successful, Apollo will become the Android of the automotive industry-the software developed by Google for smartphones.

    Dirk Hoheisel, a member of Bosch's management committee responsible for automotive system integration, said that Bosch would be happy to cooperate with Baidu.

    He also said: "This cooperation can combine the expertise of a high-tech Internet company with our expertise as the world's largest automotive supplier, and promote the development of smart mobility in China."

    Continental CEO Elmar Degenhart said that the company's cooperation with Baidu will "take an important step forward for smart mobility."

    Baidu and Continental will explore cooperation in sensor systems, software for semi-autonomous and fully autonomous vehicles (including the application of the "Apollo" platform). But Baidu lags behind in establishing partnerships with auto parts suppliers. For example, Google has established alliances with Bosch and Continental, as well as Delphi, a US auto parts manufacturer.

    Baidu has invested heavily in early artificial intelligence projects, but has encountered some setbacks on the road to developing self-driving car technology. In March, Andrew Ng, Baidu's chief scientist and well-known artificial intelligence expert, left the company.

    In November last year, Baidu and BMW abruptly ended their driverless car partnership, and neither company explained why.

    Mark Natkin, general manager of Marbridge Consulting, said: “In terms of autonomous vehicles, Baidu has encountered some challenges. Only when global participants cooperate or connect can we truly meet these challenges."

    However, BMI Research analyst Thomas Glendinning said that Baidu appears to be developing a comprehensive self-driving car system. He said: "With autonomy, the real end is to provide an end-to-end product that automakers can put directly into the car without much adjustment."