Baidu has launched a fully autonomous vehicle (AV) to enter ride-hailing service in 2023. The Apollo RT6 is an all-electric, production-ready model with a detachable steering wheel. According to the head of Baidu’s Intelligent Driving Group, the Apollo RT6 has a driving capability equivalent to a skilled driver with twenty years experience.

The car is designed for difficult urban environment and has a significantly reduced per unit cost of RMB 250,000, or around $37,000. Baidu plans to put the Apollo RT6 into operation in China in 2023 on Apollo Go, Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service.

Apollo RT6 is the first vehicle model built on Xinghe, Baidu’s self-developed automotive E/E architecture specially for fully autonomous driving. The vehicle is 100% automotive-grade and has full redundancy throughout both hardware and autonomous driving software.

Apollo RT6 is distinct from previous generations of Apollo that were retrofitted on conventional vehicles. The steering wheel-free design allows more space to create customised interiors, allowing for extra seating, vending machines, desktops, or gaming consoles.

Massive cost reduction

Apollo RT6 incorporates Baidu’s most advanced L4 autonomous driving system, powered by automotive-grade dual computing units with a computing power of up to 1200 TOPS. The vehicle uses 38 sensors, including 8 LiDARs and 12 cameras, to obtain highly accurate, long-range detection on all sides. The Apollo RT6 has recorded a total test mileage of over 20 million miles (around 32 million kilometres) to date.

At 4760mm long with a wheelbase of 2830mm, the Apollo RT6 is designed to provide comfort with independent rear seating, rear legroom of 1050mm, a flat floor and an intelligent interaction system. The Apollo RT6 exterior integrates sensors on the sunroof alongside interactive lights and intelligent electric sliding doors.

“This massive cost reduction will enable us to deploy tens of thousands of AVs across China. We are moving towards a future where taking a robotaxi will be half the cost of taking a taxi today,” said Robin Li, Co-founder and CEO of Baidu.

Speaking at Baidu World 2022, Zhenyu Li, senior corporate vice president of Baidu and general manager of Intelligent Driving Group (IDG), said the autonomous driving capability of Apollo RT6 is equivalent to a skilled driver with 20 years of experience.