Beijing
A “system failure” induced a robotaxi outage involving a number of automobiles operated by Baidu’s Apollo Go in central Chinese metropolis of Wuhan, native police stated on Wednesday, re-igniting security issues over the fast-growing service.
Police obtained experiences late on Tuesday that quite a few Apollo Go vehicles had stopped in the center of roads and had been unable to transfer, in accordance to an official assertion.
Passengers had been ready to exit the automobiles safely and there have been no accidents, police stated. The explanation for the incident continues to be below investigation.
At least 100 Apollo Go automobiles had been affected, a site visitors police officer stated in a video printed by Shanghai-based information outlet The Paper. The officer added that whereas the automotive doorways could possibly be opened, some passengers had been hesitant to get out due to heavy site visitors and known as police for help.
A video verified by Reuters and posted on TikTok’s Chinese model, Douyin, confirmed automobiles stalled on busy roads and obstructing site visitors.
Local media reported that some passengers had been trapped contained in the automobiles for practically two hours.
Baidu didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The accident sparked renewed discussions on Chinese social media about robotaxi security and readiness.
An Apollo Go robotaxi carrying a passenger fell right into a building pit in Chongqing in August, and in May one of many vehicles operated by Pony.ai caught hearth on a highway in Beijing. No accidents had been reported in both incident.
A widespread energy outage in San Francisco on the finish of final 12 months additionally induced Waymo robotaxis to stall and snarl site visitors.
Baidu is one among China’s largest operators of autonomous driving fleets, alongside Pony.ai and WeRide. The firms have rolled out business robotaxi providers throughout main Chinese cities and have expanded operations into abroad markets, together with the Middle East.