In April, both Baidu and Pony.ai received permission to offer driverless robotaxi services on open roads in Beijing with no human safety operator behind the wheel. However, at the same time, a backup driver should (seat) in the front passenger seat to take manual control in case of an emergency. It was the first time to allow for the absence of a human safety operator the front seat on public roads in Beijing, (mark) a great step towards the commercialization of fully self-driving technology.
"The permit is (critical) significant in further developing the large-scale commercialization of autonomous driving technology across the nation." said Zhang Xiang, researcher at Jiangxi New Energy Technology Institute. Zhang called for heightened efforts to strengthen the (construct) of intelligent transportation facilities, such as V2X systems, support the transfer of information to improve traffic efficiency. With the permits (issue), the two companies will provide up to 10autonomous vehicles each in a specific area in the southern suburb in Beijing. Continuous testing on public roads, easing regulations reducing costs in autonomous vehicle manufacturing (help) speed up the commercialization of self-driving cars soon.
