Baidu is ready to produce computers for self-driving cars

Baidu is reported to have taken a big step towards making self-driving cars more widely available. The Chinese company is reported to have completed a computer designed for self-driving cars. 

In July, we reported that Intel-owned Mobileye had received the necessary permissions to try out its self-driving cars on German roads. Now, as reported by Engadget, Baidu, the Chinese company behind the search engine with the same name, has revealed the “Apollo Computing Unit” – an autonomous driving computer.

Image credit: Baidu/Apollo

The self-driving car powering computer from Baidu is equipped with five cameras and twelve ultrasonic radars. There is also a Xilinx processor and microcontrollers, all of which work together to make the calculations needed for safe, autonomous driving.

Baidu will reportedly kick off its self-driving car services with ‘Apollo Valet Parking', which will have the car pick up the driver automatically in a streamlined valet service.

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KitGuru Says: Many companies are working hard to bring self-driving technology into more commercial cars. This is a very competitive field, with the likes of Nvidia, Apple, Intel, Google and other tech giants all investing into developing the necessary hardware. 

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