With the "Apollo Plan", Baidu will be able to lead the unmanned leap forward?

Baidu Apollo plans to announce that nearly a month, looking back at the plan, may be more calm. In addition to the illegal road gossip, Apollo plans to give China's unmanned development to bring qualitative change, just as Google announced in previous years, smart phone operating system Andrews open? The answer is probably no.

Nearly a month ago, Baidu chairman Li Yanhong sat in an unmanned car, driving on the Beijing Fifth Ring became Baidu high-profile announcement of its "Apollo" technology began. Baidu to the United States once again named the new plan, you can see in the BAT three major Internet giants in the past few years the weak momentum of Baidu, hoping to use the technology in the unmanned driving the Group's overall breakthrough.
It is now too early to discuss whether unmanned vehicles are on the road from the legal point of view and who is responsible after the traffic accident. A more straightforward question is, from this brief show, you can see Baidu in unmanned technology on the real strength of it? And Apollo plans to give China's unmanned development to bring qualitative change, just as Google announced in previous years, smart phone operating system Andrews open?
No one is driving a gimmick?
To answer these questions, first of all it should be understood that what is unmanned. Unmanned technology is a very broad concept that contains a lot of car-assisted technology. In simple terms, unmanned vehicles rely on car sensors (laser radar) to return the data stream "listen" and "see", through the GPS positioning system and high-definition digital map to identify the geographical location. The technology of the brain is a high-precision digital map, high-definition digital map is a huge terrain database, stored in unmanned vehicles, and the eyes are a variety of sensors.
In some places, unmanned driving is also known as the ultimate goal of intelligent driving, the concept has been reduced to a specific stage. At the international level, some agencies have conducted unequal division of unmanned vehicles. There are currently two more authoritative bodies. One is the American Society of Motor Engineers (SAE) and the other is the US Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA). Roughly as follows:
The same time as the above-
Relatively speaking, the US Highway Safety Administration (NHTSA) five-level division of the standard in the global application of a wide range. If you use a more intuitive explanation, the 5-level division is roughly as follows: If a car is only in the direction of travel or lateral control, for the automatic level. If both with vertical and lateral automatic control, for the automatic two. On this basis, if the car on all the perception of the environment, is completed by the car vision, it is three. On the basis of the first three, if the whole driving to form a "closed loop", it is four. The difference between the four and five is that the four is the local road conditions (highways, suburbs or urban areas), five is the whole situation all-weather.
The 5-level "popular explanation" comes from SAIC. For example, we are familiar with the EPS (automatic anti-lock) belong to this classification level, "automatic parking" and "lane to maintain" belongs to three. And this China's largest car group in the unmanned choice and Alibaba cooperation. SAIC was expressing a meaning in this interpretation - the higher the unmanned level, the longer the system's TFC, the higher the integration and integration of the vehicle system, the greater the importance of software control. This is also the reason for SAIC and Alibaba cooperation, Alibaba's cloud service and its high German map, can provide a systematic solution.
It should be said that Baidu in AI is indeed quite achievements, but the automatic driving car in fact with the "external force" and many. Such as the day showed unmanned vehicles, sharp eyes have been found in the car hanging at the beginning of the "Soviet" license, which is Baidu and Bosch jointly developed products, and Bosch for the car to provide sensors, related hardware and vehicle positioning service. But this display technology products, in fact, poor performance.
The same time as the above-
For example, there are professionals questioned that the unmanned motor vehicle in the first long-term cross-lane driving, did not guarantee the safety of the case under the dotted line, squeeze the normal driving after the car right, then more exaggerated is the solid line and line, The occupation of the normal driving after the road right, all kinds of illegal. That line and line twice, if the car does not brakes certainly hit. Of course, we question Baidu's unmanned technology, in fact, little significance. For the Apollo program, the more important points are not with this - how many car prices will be involved?
What is the real participation of car prices
Baidu Apollo plans to announce the scene, there are Chery Automobile, FAW Group, more than a dozen auto companies logo appears, but in addition to Chery and FAW Group, there seems to be no more open to make a statement. In fact, in the past few years, many car groups have announced in the unmanned field of investment research and development. At present, China, including Changan, Dongfeng, Geely, and so have the test on the road, more radical Changan in the last year also conducted a long distance test. To car companies to give up the current R & D results, instead of direct use of Baidu's technology, the current point of view or have great difficulty.
There are plans in the Baidu Apollo car dealers in the matrix of the car to the media that Baidu is only reached an intention, and no actual cooperation, hang a name only. Basically, the car to give up their own routes, turn to become a hardware manufacturer, car manufacturers are most reluctant to see the development trend. Baidu has also reached a cooperation agreement with BMW, but in 2016, the two companies announced the termination of unmanned vehicles research cooperation. BMW claims that "the two companies R & D philosophy is different", and Baidu had to find a new global research partners.
For car prices, in the era of automatic driving, on the one hand to keep driving the sense of fun, on the other hand to be technically possible to differentiate, to form their own characteristics. This is why all the current vehicle group in the unmanned driving their own heavily, choose a different company to cooperate. Of course, the Internet business is such a "little mind." For example, in China, basically to BAT formed a "three pillars" of the competitive situation, Ali Department, Tencent Department, Baidu each have their own partners, which basically disintegrated Baidu hope to open dominate the world of ambition.
The same time as the above-
At present, Alibaba and the Shanghai auto car relations closely, and Tencent and Changan, Audi and other cooperation, Baidu and Chery, etc. to cooperate. Audi is currently the first to achieve the third level of automatic driving production enterprises, compared with Baidu on the road that day the automatic driving technology is only "pediatric", technically not mature. In fact, Changan has also been a long distance from the automatic driving, the overall performance is better than Baidu this time.
From another point of view, car prices for the use of open technology is very cautious, after Tesla has opened almost all of the patented technology, but the car companies are interested, still focus on developing their own unique technology. This is the result of competition. And from one aspect, the vehicle business in the automatic development of the degree may be far more than the Internet business. At present, such as Mercedes-Benz, Ford, Audi, GM and most other enterprises in the L4 level of automatic driving, L4 is already fully automatic driving, Audi has the world's first mass production L3 level car, limitation. While Mercedes-Benz, BMW recently announced that in around 2020 will launch L5-level automatic driving car.
Internet business ambitions for the port of the car has been going on. From the rise of the Internet in the past two years can also be seen. But with Apple, Google and so have to give up the plan, with music and other Chinese companies in the morning car in trouble, the Internet is actually actually in name. How the Internet and the car business combination, and automatic driving, especially unmanned implementation, the need for multi-party participation, rather than a force can be completed, which is an industry consensus, which requires vehicle companies and parts enterprises and Internet companies three Between the union.
Right now, before the business model and the technical route are not determined, it should be possible to maintain the state of the hundred schools of thought may be the best. Each participant should do his best for the industry. This may be a better way for the industry.