Why does Baidu's driverless car make President Xi linger on it?

At the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen these two days, every move of Internet giants has become a hot topic among netizens, and President Xi Jinping's presence at the conference has attracted the attention of hundreds of millions of netizens. What did the president say? What technology is he most interested in? Which products are the most popular? These are the most concerned focuses of the Internet industry in recent days.

On the afternoon of December 16, when President Xi Jinping inspected the Light of Internet Expo, Baidu CEO Robin Li introduced Baidu's driverless car to Xi Jinping, and the President stayed at the Baidu booth for more than 10 minutes, three times longer than the original time. The degree of independent research and development, the speed that can be achieved, the cost, and when it can be mass-produced are issues that President Xi was more concerned about.

Why does the Chairman attach so much importance to Baidu's driverless cars?

During the introduction, Robin Li said that Baidu's driverless car uses a lot of artificial intelligence, and is more like a computer than a car. This is the first reason why Baidu's driverless car is valued. It is based on artificial intelligence. This is a microcosm of the ongoing scientific and technological revolution. The research and development, manufacturing, and application of robots have become an important symbol of a country's scientific and technological innovation and high-end manufacturing level.

The second reason is that driverless cars bring important opportunities to the automotive industry, which is expected to transform the traditional automobile manufacturing industry into a sunrise industry in the new era. The automobile industry is the first of the nine industries recognized by the State Council and an important pillar of the national economy. Intelligence, like new energy, is the general trend of the automotive industry.

Third, Baidu's driverless car project is a highland of technological innovation, which helps attract and train talents and comprehensively improve basic technologies. Driverless cars are at the peak of project research and development worldwide. Seizing this opportunity to introduce a large number of enterprises, institutions and research institutes, attract and cultivate first-class talents, the value obtained may not be the direct output of the project, but it will be beneficial to comprehensively improve the relevant core basic technologies, and these technologies will soon be transferred to civilian use, and the popularization of applications will boost economic development.

Li Yanhong said at a press conference on the 17th that driverless cars "may become a very common phenomenon" in the next three to five years, which further stimulated the confidence of the automotive industry. China's automotive industry, taking driverless cars as an opportunity, is expected to gather a large number of top global talents such as artificial intelligence talents, automotive technology talents, and manufacturing talents for China, and then expand from the automotive industry to other industries.

The typical characteristics and significance behind this project is another deep-seated reason why President Xi attaches great importance to Baidu's driverless cars.

As a first-class Internet company in China, Baidu has a natural advantage in developing autonomous driving technology. Baidu has advanced big data and artificial intelligence technologies. "Baidu Auto Brain" is a vertical application of "Baidu Brain" in the automotive field, and its development is supported by strong R&D strength and R&D investment. At the same time, Baidu is China's largest Internet map service provider and has the leading road network data collection and development capabilities in China. It is understood that Baidu's driverless driving is the only fully autonomous driving research project in China that has passed the functional safety 26262 international standard.

On December 10, Baidu announced that its driverless car had achieved fully automatic driving in mixed road conditions of cities, ring roads and highways for the first time in China, marking a new milestone in the development of China's driverless cars.

In the research and development of autonomous driving technology, traditional car companies such as Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Volvo, and General Motors have already taken action. However, what is more striking is that technology giants that can provide the "brain" for smart cars are also actively involved in related projects, including IT giants such as Intel and Qualcomm. Recently, according to Bloomberg, a source who participated in Google's strategic meeting said that Google plans to upgrade its autonomous driving car department to an independent subsidiary in 2016, under the umbrella management structure of its parent company Alphabet. In addition, Apple has also expressed a strong interest in the autonomous car project.

The fact that many giants have invested in this field shows that driverless cars have extremely high R&D value and a broad market. The development of cars cannot be as explosive as that of mobile phones. It is a gradual process. As Robin Li said in his speech in Wuzhen: "As Baidu and as an individual, we still believe in technology. We are believers in technology. We think technology can promote social development and benefit mankind."

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.