China’s Baidu Inc. plans to roll out commercial self-driving vehicles on a trial basis next year with a goal of mass production from 2021, said its president Zhang Ya-Qin in an email interview with the Maeil Business Newspaper.

“We believe that the automobile is the next major computing platform and its advances in high-definition mapping and deep-learning technology would give the company a headway in the race in new industrial age," he said outlining the company’s transformation from a Web-based services company to a comprehensive and multinational intelligence-based solutions provider.

He boasted that Baidu’s vehicular detection has achieved an accuracy rate of 92.65 percent, the world’s highest, and its accuracy in speech recognition hovering at 97 percent, outpacing human capability. Equally, the accuracy of artificial intelligence-powered traffic-related image recognition for traffic signs, lane markers and traffic lights has reached 95 percent.

The company completed its first public road test in California in October 2016 and announced partnership with the Beijing Auto Industry Corporation (BAIC) to provide connected car solutions for its cars and explore cooperation in autonomous driving and big data applications.

He named four factors why Baidu and other Chinese companies have an edge in the fourth industrial revolution. “A few ingredients are necessary in order for innovation to thrive and for technology to really make a difference: talent, capital, a large market, and government support.”

"We see the confluence of these factors in China."



Here is the full text of his interview.

Q: Anti-globalism, trade protectionism and nationalism will affect the business environment of many international IT companies. What kind of negative or positive impacts do you foresee for Baidu’s global businesses?

A: As a tech company, we are confident that the trend of internationalization in the world is both unstoppable and, on the whole, very positive. Innovation across many different areas is creating a strong synergistic momentum that is truly international. And we’re seeing the global center of innovation also expanding from Silicon Valley to other regions and countries, especially China. Top talent is increasingly willing to be global and open to working in different countries. Chinese companies would love to invite more people from all countries and all ethnicities to China, because China has the world`s largest and fastest-growing Internet market today.

Q: Why do you think Baidu is strong compared to its rivals for business in an era of the 4th industrial revolution?

As China’s dominant search engine, our research is powered by data collected from billions of web pages and tens of billions of image, voice and location data points. We have the best talent. Baidu is a technology company and R&D talent is our lifeblood. We are able to attract the best talent because we have a tremendous platform with abundant resources to do great things.

Q: Why is it important for a search engine company like Baidu to focus in self-driving technology?

We believe that the automobile is the next major computing platform, and that advances and innovation will happen quickly especially here in China. Baidu’s strength in high-definition mapping and deep learning-powered computer vision will prove to be decisive advantages.

Q: What are Baidu’s strengths in self-driving car technology?

A: Baidu has made long-term investments into AI technology, and has significant technological advantages in autonomous driving technology such as:

Baidu AutoBrain: Baidu’s AI infrastructure for autonomous vehicles, consists of core technologies including high-definition positioning and mapping, and intelligent environment perception and control capabilities.

Perception and recognition: Baidu’s vehicular detection has achieved an accuracy rate of 92.65 percent, the world’s highest, per the KITTI Vision Benchmark Suite. The accuracy of Baidu speech recognition has reached 97 percent, exceeding human capability. The accuracy of Baidu AI-powered traffic-related image recognition for things like traffic signs, lane markers and traffic lights has reached 95 percent.

High-precision mapping: Baidu is the first Chinese company developing high-definition maps and the only high-definition map data provider in China which has mass deployment capability. Our over two hundred data collection vehicles drive all over China to ensure that our maps provide accurate mapping information. Our maps possess HD data for over 10,000 km of roads in China. By the end of 2017, this number will reach 300,000 km, covering all highways in China.

Baidu has its sights set on Level-4 fully autonomous driving, and our goal is to have a limited number of commercial autonomous vehicles on the road by 2018 with mass production beginning in 2021. We’ve been working closely with automobile manufacturers, research institutions and auto part/sensor/chip suppliers, leveraging our AI and mapping technologies to build an ecosystem for autonomous driving. We’d like to see autonomous driving enhance road safety and make transportation more efficient and make commuting more economical for users. In December 2015, Baidu announced the completion of its first fully automated test drive in mixed road conditions in Beijing, successfully navigating urban roads, ring roads and expressways, with speeds reaching 100 km per hour. Baidu completed its first public road test in California in October 2016 after obtaining a test permit from the California Department of Motor Vehicles on September 1st 2016. Baidu is also working to leverage its strengths in high-definition maps, AI and big data to help automakers upgrade the intelligence of their vehicles and provide safe and economic solutions for Baidu partners and users. Baidu just announced our cooperation with BAIC to implement an “Internet of Vehicles” solutions for BAIC cars, including Baidu Carlife, maps and online music. The collaboration will also explore possible cooperation in autonomous driving and high definition maps, as well as further develop BAIC’s big data applications.

Q: Why do you think foreign internet companies like Google haven’t been performing so well in mainland China? What part of the local culture should they understand to succeed in the Chinese market?

A: We believe there are two main drivers of growth, sustainability and leadership in the fast-changing Internet landscape that we operate. They are best user experience and innovative technology. The Internet in China is a very competitive space, but it is also a very innovative sector. Probably just because it is so competitive, people are forced to innovate. You have to be different from others. You have to become better and better to survive and thrive.

Q: Which business field do you think has the greatest growth potential in the future? Do you have any plan to enter a new business sector?

A: We believe that AI will change almost every industry forever. Meanwhile, we see huge potential in using internet technology and our leadership in AI to innovate in traditional industries including finance, education, healthcare, tourism and transportation. Autonomous driving is another emerging industry that will benefit from our AI technology. We believe that eventually the majority of cars will be self-driving, and Baidu is set to play an important role in this area.

Q: What is your source of creativity and insight in seeking for new, trendy, and successful business ideas?

What drives companies to innovate is the desire to tackle difficult problems and to throw away the playbook and really think hard about how to make a difference. In our home market of China, the hyper competitive landscape - as well as having the largest Internet population in the world - also helps drive innovation and faster iterations. At Baidu, we say that the company is only 30 days away from bankruptcy as we are facing fierce competition every day. Our fundamental business can become disrupted with a new product or new technology - it’s a threat that we constantly think about: How can we keep up with change? How can we lead change? We need to continue to innovate. A few key ingredients are necessary in order for innovation to thrive and for technology to really make a difference: talent, capital, a large market and government support. We see the confluence of these factors in China.

By Park Yong-beom

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