AutoX, a self-driving car startup based in China, has deployed a fleet of robotaxis on the roads of Shenzhen without any safety drivers or remote operators.
AutoX claims this is the first time that a fleet of autonomous vehicles without any backup drivers has been active on the streets in the country. Previously, AutoX was conducting stress tests in the form of a pilot program for hide-hailing in Shanghai. The testing, which took place over the period of six months, involved 25 robotaxis in Shenzhen and Shanghai with five other vehicles being tested in cities globally.
In the video, fully driverless robotaxis maneuver around parked vehicles and trucks on the road, yield to pedestrians and bikes and make U-turns while carrying passengers inside — all without any safety driver inside.
The AutoX robotaxis come equipped with the company’s proprietary autonomous system that uses sensing technology such as high-resolution cameras, two lidar sensors placed on both sides of the vehicles as well as 4D radar sensors. The system includes multiple blind spot sensing suites to create surround vision to detect small objects in blind spots.
Earlier this year, the company received a driverless permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to operate driverless vehicles up to 45 miles per hour on public roads and has been operating a ride-hailing service to the general public in Shanghai and Shenzhen in August.