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Chinese ride-hailing giant DiDi has debuted its DiDi Neuron concept robotaxi. There are arms at the back for lifting luggage or waking up sleeping passengers. DiDi is working with a Chinese automaker to develop its own self-driving taxi, aiming for commercialization in 2025.
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DiDi Global said Thursday it is developing its own self-driving taxis in collaboration with a Chinese automaker and plans to roll them out on its ride-hailing service in 2025.
The Chinese giant’s self-driving unit also showed off a concept robo-taxis, or driverless taxi called the DiDi Neuron. The rear seats are equipped with robotic arms that can lift luggage and wake up sleeping passengers.
DiDi said it is working with new energy car makers, including electric car makers, to develop robotaxis.
The Beijing-based company has announced an autonomous trucking business named Kargobot, with more than 100 driverless trucks in operation. DiDi said it is focusing on logistics and freight services.
DiDi also released two pieces of hardware focused on autonomous driving. His first, co-developed with Chinese tech company Benewake, is called DiDi Beiyao Beta LiDAR. Lidar stands for Light Detection and Ranging Technology. Lidar systems transmit lasers that can be reflected to measure distance. These return beams are processed by algorithms to create his three-dimensional representation of surrounding objects. This is a key technology for self-driving cars to understand their environment.
The second development is a computing platform for self-driving cars called Orca.
DiDi’s ambitious robotaxi targets and new products highlight the company’s desire to expand beyond ride-hailing services into new areas, including developing self-driving technology.
DiDi established its autonomous driving division in 2016 and spun off as a wholly owned subsidiary in 2019. Since then, it has raised external funding from backers, including SoftBank. The company is testing robo-taxis across China. Last month, the company began commercial operation of robo-taxis in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
China has supported the development of self-driving cars. Governments in big cities like Beijing and Guangzhou have allowed companies from Baidu to WeRide to Pony.ai to test self-driving cars.
DiDi’s string of announcements is the result of nearly two years of intense scrutiny by the Chinese government, and is another sign that regulatory crackdowns may be eased.
The ride-hailing giant has come under fire from regulators after it went public in the US in June 2021. A few days later, Chinese authorities launched a cybersecurity investigation into the company. DiDi’s app was eventually removed from Chinese app stores and ordered to stop new user registrations. Didi has been delisted from the US and is now seeking an IPO in Hong Kong.
In January, DiDi’s app returned to the Chinese app store. This marks the end of the worst review. And last month, the company announced plans to expand its operations to more cities in China.