Self-driving car technology provider DeepRoute and Chinese mobility vendor Cao Cao are collaborating on the development of autonomous robotaxis for the Chinese market.
The news comes just a few days after Chinese automotive vendor AutoX announced it had begun a robotaxi service in Shanghai, China, for the general public following an extensive pilot program.
DeepRoute, which develops sensing platforms and systems for self-driving cars, is working to develop automated systems for vehicles that are easier and safer to develop. The collaboration with Cao Cao will see the autonomous vehicles, powered by DeepRoute’s full-stack self-driving system, deployed at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China.
DeepRoute’s Sense II system will be integrated into Cao Cao’s dedicated fleet of Geometry A fully electric vehicles (EVs) for the multi-sport event allowing athletes and guests to use the Cao Cao app to seamlessly hail these vehicles to get around event sites.
DeepRoute’s Sense II system provides vehicles with a full system with every component needed for self-driving technology including sensing, HD mapping, perception, planning and control, simulation system and cloud technology. The system features vehicle cameras, three lidar sensors, a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) with two GPS antennas and other sensors. The system also integrates a telecommunication and data synchronization controller to synchronize data from the different sensors in real time.
Additionally, the system comes with 5G support allowing companies eventually to remotely control vehicles so operators can take over a vehicle’s driving system if needed. 5G also allows for vehicle-to-vehicle communication networks in smart cities.
While self-driving car testing was one of the many markets delayed due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, it is obvious from the DeepRoute and AutoX announcement that things are getting back on track quickly as companies are beginning to put into real-world situations the technology that has been under development for years.
Testing of self-driving cars and robotaxis is happening in China because the region is the largest EV market in the world — with more than 1 million EVs sold in China in 2019, according to the International Energy Agency.
