Baidu says AI chatbot Ernie Bot free from April
BEIJING: China's Baidu said on Thursday that its artificial intelligence chatbot Ernie Bot would be free from April 1. (Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Kim Coghill)
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What's On
16-06-2025
- What's On
When will we be able to book a driverless taxis in Dubai
Driverless taxis in Dubai. It's an ongoing topic that keeps progressing as time passes by, as there are a number of factors to be considered before they take to the street. The latest information, and possibly the most exciting, answers the question, 'When will driverless taxis be on the roads in Dubai?'. And that time is just around the corner, as Dubai has announced that self-driving taxis will launch for passengers in 2026. The roadmap to get there The latest news from RTA on self-driving taxis came in April 2025 with the announcement of the transport authority signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Apollo Go to bring autonomous taxis to the emirate. Apollo Go is Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service, a global leader in autonomous transport solutions. The Apollo Go company provides self-driving taxis across China, specifically in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and more. Under the terms of the MoU, Apollo Go and RTA will initiate a trial of 100 autonomous taxis in 2025, and will start hosting passengers for fully driverless rides in 2026. Currently, there are testing and trial phases that are being conducted with a safety driver behind the wheel, just to ensure everything is safe and sound for its future passengers. The digital mapping of the roads began way back in 2022, and once this is sorted, pilot operations will be launched in up to 65 zones across Dubai. During the initial phase, there will still be a safety driver on board to take over in case they have to. When everything is ready and in place, riders will be able to book these driverless cars on the Uber app. *11 transportation systems coming to the UAE* But, why go driverless? Self-driving vehicles are expected to significantly improve road safety levels, as over 90% of accidents are due to human errors. The vehicles are all-electric, environmentally friendly, and capable of serving a wide range of clients from different community segments, including seniors and people of determination. Driverless taxis are also part of Dubai's Strategy for Smart Self-Driving Transport which aims to convert 25% of all mobility journeys in the emirate to self-driving modes by 2030. About the state-of-the-art driverless vehicles The vehicles will be equipped with 80 sensors, cameras, and LiDAR systems – laser scanning technology, which will monitor road conditions and controls to avoid collision with objects (even those the human eye cannot see). 'Human errors are responsible for more than 90% of accidents. The Autonomous vehicles are environmentally friendly electric vehicles, and can serve considerable numbers of customers, particularly senior citizens and residents, in addition to people of determination,' commented His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, Director General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors of Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA). Images: Dubai Media Office > Sign up for FREE to get exclusive updates that you are interested in
Zawya
29-05-2025
- Zawya
Chinese robotaxi makers head to a welcoming Gulf as overseas ambitions grow
ABU DHABI - If you're a Chinese robotaxi company, the Gulf has become the place to be, attractive for a regulatory environment that is embracing the technology and robust demand for ride-hailing services. Their enthusiasm has been evident in a flurry of recently announced expansion plans. This week, became the third Chinese robotaxi company after rivals Baidu and WeRide to unveil an agreement with Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority in the United Arab Emirates. It plans to start trialling its vehicles in the city this year with full driverless operations slated to start in 2026. WeRide also said this week it would be expanding into Saudi Arabia, where it has been testing its vehicles in cities like Riyadh, adding that it expects commercial services to start in late 2025. That follows its launch of fully driverless robotaxi trials in the UAE's Abu Dhabi this month with commercial rides due to be rolled out from the end of June. It also soon plans to launch in Dubai. Baidu outlined plans in March to deploy "dozens" of robotaxis in partnership with UAE-based Autogo in Abu Dhabi with a goal to start commercial operations by 2026. It also aims to start trials in Dubai this year. The UAE "is relatively open but they are also careful and pragmatic on details," said Zhang Liang, a general manager in Baidu's autonomous driving unit Apollo, who oversees European and the Middle East markets. "We are actually happy to see positive and active competition and we won't be afraid of such competition," he said at the World New Energy Vehicle Congress in Abu Dhabi last week. Worried about worsening traffic congestion and a shortage of taxi and ride-hailing services that largely rely on migrant workers for their drivers, Dubai has set a goal of having 25% of its daily transportation be smart and driverless by 2030. Abu Dhabi's target is 25% of total trips by 2040 while Saudi Arabia is aiming for 15% by 2030. "Middle East and this kind of market, they already have the infrastructure, they have the capital, they have the ambition, which is very important. So that's why everybody is queuing up here," said Thaha Muhammed Abdul Kareem, a Qatar-based independent consultant. Both and WeRide have partnered with Uber in the region so their vehicles can be ordered through the Uber app. FUTURE US-CHINA BATTLEGROUND? The Gulf may become the region where Chinese and U.S. robotaxis go head to head for the first time. Tesla CEO Elon Musk said during a Gulf tour with U.S. President Donald Trump this month that he would take Cybercab robotaxis to Saudi Arabia, although he didn't mention a timeframe. At present, however, Waymo is the only U.S. firm to run uncrewed robotaxi services carrying paying passengers. Tesla plans to launch a trial in Austin, Texas by the end of June, aiming to scale up to about a thousand vehicles within a few months. Its Chinese rivals have more experience. Baidu's Zhang said the company was confident it could do well abroad, citing how its vehicles had completed 10 million trips in China as of March without a serious traffic accident. The search engine giant has been running its Apollo Go robotaxi services commercially in several Chinese cities since 2022. The vehicles have so-called 4 autonomy - which means they are driverless but can travel only in certain areas. Those areas can, however, be quite large with the city of Wuhan, for example, making more than 3,000 km of public roads available for robotaxi use. "This year marks the first year for Apollo to go abroad officially," Zhang said. The company plans to make forays into Europe and Southeast Asia, he added without providing a timeframe. which has a fleet of 300 robotaxis in China, said long term it hopes to integrate its robotaxis with Dubai's metro and tram routes. Backed by Japan's Toyota, sees this year as its inaugural year for large-scale commercial deployment and aims to ramp up its fleet globally to thousands of vehicles in the next two years. It also has test permits in the United States, South Korea and Luxembourg. WeRide said it has begun "public operation" of its robotaxi GXR minivan in several Chinese cities as well as Zurich and Abu Dhabi. It partnered with Uber in May to expand into 15 cities in the next five years and says that in addition to the Middle East, Singapore, Japan and Europe face driver shortages in the transportation sector, making them key target markets. (Reporting by Zhang Yan; Editing by Brenda Goh and Edwina Gibbs)
Filipino Times
21-04-2025
- Filipino Times
Dubai to roll out self-driving taxis by 2026; trial begins in coming months
Dubai is gearing up to roll out self-driving taxis by 2026, starting with the trial deployment of 50 autonomous vehicles in the coming months. The initiative follows a newly signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) and Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go. Under the agreement, 50 self-driving taxis will begin pilot operations across the emirate, with plans to gradually scale the fleet to 1,000 vehicles over the next three years. Baidu's Apollo Go will deploy its latest generation of autonomous taxis, the RT6, which are equipped with 40 sensors for enhanced safety and automation. The model has already achieved success in China, having logged over 150 million kilometers of autonomous driving and completed more than 10 million trips. This move is a key part of Dubai's Smart Self-Driving Transport Strategy, which aims to convert 25% of all trips in the city to autonomous journeys by 2030, Mattar Al Tayer, Director-General, Chairman of the Board of Executive Directors at the RTA, said in a news release. 'RTA is committed to enhancing Dubai's global leadership in autonomous mobility by trialling various types of autonomous vehicles, air taxis, and marine transport, with the ultimate goal of achieving the objectives of Dubai's Smart Self-Driving Transport Strategy,' Al Tayer added. RTA officials also said that the autonomous taxi service is expected to improve road safety, reduce congestion, and provide mobility solutions for those unable to drive, including children and the elderly.
