Several automakers and suppliers have been testing autonomous cars in the U.S. and Europe, but BMW is the first that we know of to take self-driving cars to China.
BMW’s two-year research project will study what the automaker calls “highly automated” driving on highways in Beijing and Shanghai. The project will include a number of prototypes that will use digital maps, GPS, radar and cameras, and BMW is partnering with the Chinese internet search company Baidu to provide mapping and cloud services for the vehicles.
BMW noted that China is particularly challenging for autonomous car technology given the country’s dense urban centers and multi-level highways. Plus, China may also be less litigious than the U.S., and certainly much less so than California, where Audi, Google and Mercedes-Benz recently became the first companies to receive permits to legally test autonomous cars.
As with other automakers developing autonomous driving technology, BMW’s primary goal is to reduce accidents. BMW said in a statement that self-driving fits with a “Vision Zero strategy for achieving accident-free mobility,” and that an additional “aim is to enhance comfort and efficiency.”
BMW noted that one reason it’s testing self-driving cars in China is “that highly automated driving will play a major part in ensuring sustainable personal mobility in the future” in rapidly growing megacities such as Beijing and Shanghai. The automaker also added “that only with a complete command of all the technical fundamentals will it be possible to help clarify the legal issues surrounding highly automated driving.”
Originally published by MSN Autos
The post BMW to Test Self-driving Cars in China appeared first on Doug Newcomb.