[VIDEO] Baidu CEO Investigated for Self-Driving Car Stunt
Sometimes, it's not worth being first: Baidu's impressive display of its self-driving technology chauffeuring CEO Robin Li on a busy Beijng highway is being investigated by local police.
In what may be an unprecedented move by a company head, Li was seen being driven by a Baidu autonomous car in a livestreamed video shown to a live audience at the Create 2017 Artificial Intelligence Conference on Wednesday.
Using a system called "Apollo" that was created in conjunction with Bosch, Baidu's autonomous car was driving on Beijing's Fifth Ring Road in traffic Li described as "extremely heavy." The minute-long video, to which received thunderous applause, demonstrated the car was driving itself as Li sat in the passenger seat.
But as courageous as Li is to commit his personal safety to a machine, local traffic police say automated cars are illegal in China. Beijing Youth Daily quoted an unnamed police officer who said current traffic laws and regulations do not yet allow driverless vehicles on the roads.
A reporter with XCar China (Weibo) said local traffic authorities have confirmed they are investigating Baidu over the incident.
Baidu responded to the police investigation by saying that Li was accompanied by Baidu smart car general manager Gu Weihao in the driver's seat. Though Gu is barely visible in the video, seen only by the tops of his knees and the side of his face, it is clear that Gu's hands never touched the steering wheel any time during the broadcast.
The Baidu response did not acknowledge if the self-driving demonstration had been approved by the government.
Baidu's brashness to move forward without official authorization is indicative of a number of Chinese companies that say the government is too cautious when it comes to self-driving cars, urging them to relax restrictions.
"If China can adjust the rules to allow more qualified companies to participate in mapping, it will improve the overall competence of the country's autonomous driving industry," said Geely chairman Li Shufu.
Former R&D head for GM Motors Larry Burns said that China may beat the rest of the world to market in this incredibly lucrative and competitive industry because it "doesn’t necessarily have to have the debate to reach a conclusion."
Baidu first tested its self-driving cars on Beijing's Fifth Ring Road in 2015, having collaborated with such Chinese companies as Chang'an and Chery and used cars like the BMW 3 series and the Geely eQ.
Baidu has said it will publicly debut its autonomous cars by 2021.
A video of the presentation can be below:https://v.qq.com/txp/iframe/player.html?vid=z0522rnfto7&width=500&height=375&auto=0
Images: Weibo, XCar
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