Baidu unveiled its Apollo car robot without a steering wheel and pedals but equipped with a large, curved screen on August 18.
The company said the Apollo car robot has L5 self-driving capability, voice, face recognition and other interaction capabilities, and can also self-learn and continuously upgrade, making it an intelligent body that serves various scenarios.
The Apollo car robot is equipped with automatic gull-wing doors and an all-glass roof. Instead of a steering wheel and pedals, the car is equipped with a large curved screen, intelligent console, privacy glass, and zero gravity seats.
Robin Li, the company's founder, chairman and CEO, said the car robot is a loyal companion assistant that understands what the user says and helps him or her order tickets and make travel arrangements.
Li said the car robot is more like a robot than what people imagine a car to be, which will be the direction of car evolution.
A CCTV reporter called the car robot "a home theater" during a live broadcast.
Previously, Li said in July that Baidu's smart car is being developed rapidly and a more robot-like car is expected to be launched within 2-3 years.
"Many people now think of a car as a big phone, and some think of a car as a computer with four wheels," he said.
"We feel that smart cars will be more like smart robots in the future, or vice versa, which means that the mainstream direction of robots in the future will be more like a smart car," he explained.
