launcht With Google paving the way for mobile-device makers and wireless carriers to utilize the Android platform to its maximum potential, Chinese Internet company Baidu has drawn inspiration from this model. Baidu wants to replicate the same, with its driverless-car operating software.
A host of companies are climbing on board – including Microsoft, Uber rival Grab, mapping specialist TomTom and big carmakers such as Ford. More than 50 partners have joined hands, under Baidu’s Apollo project to distribute its driverless software to other companies and also develop a self-driving vehicle that can be mass-produced.
“Baidu’s Silicon Valley car team will play a significant role in building the car of the future,” Jing Wang, the general manager of Baidu’s autonomous driving unit, said when the group was formed in April 2016.
