A lot of car makers out there have been very keen to show off self-driving concept cars without steering wheels, but Baidu is very close to putting an actual vehicle on real-world roads without a steering wheel as the technology giant has just unveiled a new Robo taxi, the Apollo RT6, which has a removable steering wheel. This option will let ride-hailing services offer more space for passengers, including extra seats, work desks, or even game consoles.
The Apollo RT6 promises more room for passengers and unsurprisingly includes the newest autonomous driving tech from Baidu, which is a Level 4 system that is capable of full self-driving under specific conditions and uses a total of 38 sensors including eight LIDAR sensors and 12 cameras. Although the company did not reveal the arrangement for the electric vehicle design, the flat force lighting doors, and interactive lights will make your commute more enjoyable, even if it possibly might be a very short one.
The most important and impressive thing about this is that the machine is production ready and the car will cost businesses the equivalent of $37,000 in China entering usage with Baidu’s Apollo Go service in 2023. The very modest price will make it very practical for the company to roll out thousands of vehicles across china envisioning a future where every Robo taxi fares costs half as much as those of conventional rides today.
