Baidu obtains Beijing's first batch of T4-level autonomous driving test licenses

Today (1), the Beijing Autonomous Driving Test Management Joint Group issued the first batch of T4-level autonomous driving test licenses, a total of 5, all of which were issued to Baidu.

It is reported that T4 is the highest level of autonomous driving test license issued by Beijing so far. The T4 license means that the autonomous driving vehicle needs to have the ability to drive autonomously on complex urban roads, which are far more complex than the roads that T3 needs to deal with.

Compared with T3, T4 is the embodiment of Beijing's high-tech level of autonomous driving, a core measure for Beijing to pragmatically promote autonomous driving, and an important way to set different thresholds for industry safety. T4 increases the complexity of scenarios compared to T3 even for the same special test items.

The T4 license is also the most difficult autonomous driving license to obtain. It has very high technical requirements and a very strict assessment process for obtaining the license, which requires multiple assessments. First, autonomous driving vehicles must be tested for no less than 5,000 kilometers at the Yizhuang Autonomous Driving Test Site in Beijing's National Intelligent Vehicle and Intelligent Transportation Demonstration Zone (Beijing-Hebei), which has the largest area, the highest test level, and the richest test scenarios. The test site includes highways, expressways, urban roads, rural roads, and other scenarios, which can cover more than 85% of urban traffic scenarios in the Beijing-West region.

Secondly, the vehicle needs to pass 100% of the 102 scenario coverage tests, which adds 19 more difficult and complex scenario tests than the T3 level test. Then, the vehicle needs to pass the T4 level capability assessment test. On the randomly selected T4 level test route, the vehicle must complete all the assessment content tests at one time. If any one fails, the overall assessment will fail. After that, the vehicle's performance will be reviewed by an expert group to evaluate the company's technical level, quality assurance and testing system, safety management specifications and implementation, accident handling and response and other comprehensive capabilities.

Finally, the T4-level autonomous driving license was issued after review by the Beijing Autonomous Driving Test Management Joint Working Group Joint Meeting.

At the end of last year, at the 2018 Baidu World Conference, the "Hongqi E-Jie", the first domestic L4 autonomous driving passenger car jointly developed by Baidu and FAW Hongqi, made its debut. FAW Group Chairman Xu Liuping announced the mass production plan for this self-driving car. It will be demonstrated in small batches in 2019 and put into large-scale operation in more cities in 2020. The first batch of open cities will include Beijing, Changchun, Hainan, etc.