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Vivian Au

Mainland Chinese tech giant Baidu has applied to launch autonomous vehicle (AV) trials at Hong Kong airport.
The firm, registered as Baidu Apollo International Limited in Hong Kong, unveiled the details of its plan at an Islands District Council meeting on Tuesday, saying it expected testing to start before the end of the year.
Baidu, which operates driverless taxis across the border, said it had applied to launch AV testing last month and met Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu in June.
“We hope to conduct the testing during less busy hours,” Claire Hu, head of overseas development and business partnership for strategy of Baidu Intelligent Driving, told the meeting.
She said tests would run from 10am to 6pm and from 1am to 5am, but the scheduled time was flexible and subject to change.
The test route is expected to start at the airport car park, pass through Third Sky Street, Sky City and Scenic Road before returning to the car park as the final destination.
“We have communicated the testing route with the Airport Authority,” Hu said, adding that the trials were expected to be launched in stages.
Baidu operates a fleet of more than 500 driverless taxis in Wuhan, the capital of central Hubei province.
District councillor Jonathan Chow Yuen-kuk said he supported the project, as Hong Kong was aiming to be a smart city and it could enrich transport in the area.
Fellow councillor Lau Chin-pang said the plan was a good starting point and agreed that more testing should be conducted for the project.
“However, how will Baidu coordinate with [government] departments?” he said, while also asking how the operation of driverless cars would be different in Hong Kong from on the mainland.

The company said that during testing, local operators who had received training and had more than 10 years of driving experience would serve as a backup to monitor the vehicles.
Baidu added that the operators could respond immediately if needed given the relatively high volume of road operations in North Lantau.
The Transport Department told the Post that Baidu submitted its application for an autonomous vehicle pilot licence and an AV certificate for its trial last month.
“The submission of application materials is almost complete and the application is still under review,” the department said.
It said Baidu’s trial plan under the application was to arrange for an AV car to be tested on designated roads on the airport island.
There would be a backup operator in the car to take over when necessary, the department said.
It also said it had approved a total of 20 vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems for trials at 11 different locations from June 2017 to the end of last month.
The government amended the Road Traffic Ordinance and made a new piece of subsidiary legislation to provide a flexible regulatory framework for autonomous vehicles that came into operation in March.
The new legislation would not limit the area or scale of the trials, but the applicants need to apply for an AV pilot licence from the authorities.


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Baidu, which operates driverless taxis across the border in Wuhan, wants to test autonomous vehicles at Hong Kong airport


Baidu, which operates driverless taxis across the border in Wuhan, wants to test autonomous vehicles at Hong Kong airport.
