China's Baidu Sees Hotpot, Backseat Karaoke in Driverless Future

A prototype of a Hongqi Level 4 autonomous driving vehicle, developed as part of Baidu Inc.'s Apollo open platform for driverless technology, is unveiled at the Baidu World conference in Beijing, on Nov. 1, 2018.

Photographer: Giulia Marchi/Bloomberg
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Baidu Inc.’s making a concerted effort to catch up in the driverless car race.

The search giant showcased its “Apollo” self-driving technology in Beijing Thursday, unveiling a partnership with HongqiBloomberg Terminal -- the “Red Flag” brand created to serve late Communist leader Mao Zedong -- to develop a near-full autonomous vehicle in 2019. It’s also inked a deal to install the software in Volvo Car AB’s self-driving robotaxis.