百度无人车在美获准路试

Beijing Baidu said it would soon begin testing driverless cars on US roads, as China’s largest search engine looks to draw alongside the likes of Google and Tesla in developing autonomous vehicles.

百度(Baidu)表示将很快在美国道路上测试无人驾驶汽车，中国最大搜索引擎正在向谷歌(Google)、特斯拉(Tesla)等公司靠拢，研发自动驾驶汽车。

Wang Jing, general manager of Baidu’s Autonomous Driving Unit, said the California Department of Motor Vehicles had issued Baidu USA an autonomous vehicle testing permit.

百度自动驾驶事业部总经理王劲表示，美国加州机动车辆管理局(Department of Motor Vehicles)已向百度美国(Baidu USA)发放自动驾驶汽车上路测试牌照。

We will start testing our autonomous driving technologies on public roads very soon in California, he said.

王劲表示，百度将很快在加州的公共道路上展开无人车测试。

Baidu has already built a strong team in Silicon Valley to develop autonomous driving technologies, and being able to do road tests will greatly accelerate progress.

百度在硅谷已建立了一个强大团队开发自动驾驶技术，而能够上路测试将极大地加快进度。

The company completed the first fully autonomous road test in China last December, using Baidu’s self-driving system — a clunky-looking sensor package mounted on a BMW.

百度去年12月在北京完成了首次完全自动驾驶汽车道路测试，使用了百度的自动驾驶系统——一套看上去笨重的传感器安装在一辆宝马(BMW)上。

In 2018, it plans a small-scale commercial launch of fully autonomous cars, with mass production following by 2020.

百度计划在2018年在商业基础上小规模推出完全自动驾驶汽车，批量生产将在2020年进行。

Baidu yesterday announced a partnership with US graphics processor maker Nvidia to accelerate its self-driving car plans.

百度昨日宣布与美国图形处理器制造商Nvidia打造合作伙伴关系，以推进其无人驾驶汽车计划。

Jen-hsun Huang, Nvidia’s chief, said the goal is a fleet of driverless taxis.

Nvidia首席执行官黄仁勋(Jen-hsun Huang)表示他们的目标是建立无人驾驶出租车队。

We will be able to deliver a cloud-to-car architecture platform that promises to get cars on the road in the next several years, said Mr Huang.

他说：我们将推出一个汽车云架构平台，有望在未来几年让汽车上路。

Baidu also said it had invested, along with Ford, in a laser radar company, Velodyne LiDAR.

百度还表示已与福特(Ford)一起投资了激光雷达公司Velodyne LiDAR。

The self-driving car venture exploits Baidu’s lead over Chinese competitors in artificial intelligence, according to HSBC bank.

汇丰(HSBC)表示，自动驾驶汽车项目利用了百度相对于中国竞争对手在人工智能领域的领先地位。

In a note yesterday, HSBC said: In our view, Baidu is the AI leader in China and among an elite group of internet giants globally . . . Self-driving technology combines all of Baidu’s strengths enabled by AI.

该行昨日在一份报告中指出：我们认为百度是中国人工智能的领导者，而且是全球互联网巨头精英群体的成员之一……自动驾驶技术结合了百度借助人工智能具备的全部优势。

The safety of driverless cars has been called into a question by a fatal road accident in the US in May, when a Tesla operating in autopilot mode crashed into a truck crossing a highway.

今年5月美国一辆特斯拉在自动驾驶模式下撞上了一辆在公路上换车道的卡车，这起致命交通事故使无人驾驶汽车的安全性受到质疑。

James Peng, Baidu’s chief computer architect, claimed during a presentation yesterday that its own vehicles’ sensors were superior to Tesla’s and the same road accident could not have happened with its cars.

百度首席架构师James Peng在昨日的演示中表示，百度车辆的传感器优于特斯拉，百度无人驾驶汽车不可能发生这样的交通事故。