Baidu “Apollo”, the world’s first commercial driverless electric bus, put into trial operation at Shin Kong Place in Yubei on February 5

CHONGQING (CQNEWS) -- Baidu “Apollo”, the world’s first commercial driverless electric bus, was officially launched for trial operation at Shin Kong Place in Yubei, Chongqing on February 5, and was open to the media for test rides, which the public can experience from February 8.

Passengers experiencing Apollo

The project is the first project of Baidu driverless commercial operation in a commercial area. “Apollo” is unique in appearance, with a rounded, cute shape and a strong sense of technology. According to the staff on site, Apollo is 4.4 meters long, 2.2 meters wide and 2.7 meters high and can carry 14 people. No driver is needed for the entire journey, just a small touch screen to set the route and a range of 100km on a single charge. The reporter boarded Apollo for a test ride. A safety officer was on board, and while driving in Shin Kong Place commercial area, a small screen next to the safety officer would show passers-by and obstacles in real time, and Apollo would take actions such as slowing down, turning around or stopping. Apollo has covered a total of more than 100,000km and received more than 110,000 passengers safely since it was launched in mass production in July 2018. (Translated by Wang Huixin, Fathom Language Limited)

Timely identification of passers-by and obstacles by Apollo