bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Ravi Hiranand

This article originally appeared on ABACUS
Baidu isn’t backing down from driverless cars -- after one of Uber’s autonomous cars struck and killed a woman in the United States.
CEO Robin Li said at an event on Monday that Uber’s accident wouldn’t affect Baidu’s plans for autonomous vehicles, claiming they are much safer than cars driven by human drivers.

“On average, 500 people die from traffic accidents [caused by human drivers] a day. But we rarely read this in the news. While the first accident involving an Uber autonomous driving car made quite a stir, it is to some extent mainly because ‘man bites dog’ makes news,” said Li.
How Baidu's Robin Li founded China's answer to Google    
After the crash, some companies paused development of autonomous cars, including Toyota. But last Friday, Beijing gave Baidu permission to test driverless cars inside the city itself -- showing China’s willingness to push on and become a leader in autonomous vehicles.
Baidu is building a platform for self-driving cars called Apollo, which the company compares to Android -- an operating system that runs across multiple devices. The company says mass production of a driverless bus built on its platform will begin in the next few months.

For more insights into China tech, sign up for our tech newsletters, subscribe to our Inside China Tech podcast, and download the comprehensive 2019 China Internet Report. Also roam China Tech City, an award-winning interactive digital map at our sister site Abacus.



China’s smart cities streets ahead, but same AI challenges apply the world over

China’s DeepSeek closes in on US rival OpenAI, surpasses Alibaba with upgraded model

DeepSeek quietly updates R1 AI model amid anticipation for next-gen tech

China’s self-driving ambitions move back into top gear

Baidu

Baidu defends driverless cars after fatal Uber crash

Baidu is developing an autonomous car platform called Apollo. (Source: Bloomberg)

Baidu defends driverless cars after fatal Uber crash

CEO Robin Li compares coverage of crash to “man bites dog” story

How Baidu's Robin Li founded China's answer to Google