According to foreign media, after Google and Baidu, Russian search giant Yandex announced recently that it will develop self-driving cars.
Yandex will jointly develop a small and medium-sized autonomous driving bus with the Russian truck manufacturer Kamaz. The self-driving electric minibus can carry 12 passengers and can travel 200 kilometers after each charge. Yandex will invest in algorithmic resources in the field of computer vision and speech recognition, while Kamaz will provide physical automotive manufacturing resources. Kamaz is well-established and is invested by the Russian government and German company Daimler. In addition, NAMI Automotive Research Institute is supported by the Russian government.
As a search engine giant, Yandex will integrate its network services into its on-board system. Yandex had previously worked with Toyota, Honda, and other companies to integrate their navigation and web browsing services into cars sold in Russia.
Self-driving cars have become an upsurge, and traditional manufacturers and new technology companies are rushing to invest a lot of human and financial resources in R&D. Most companies plan to launch molded products around 2020. Yandex's entry time is relatively late, and there is currently no general time to market. According to NAMI Research Institute, both parties plan to conduct on-the-spot testing in early 2017.
Although Google and Baidu unmanned vehicles are in the testing phase, they have accumulated a lot of relevant technologies and experience. At the same time, Yandex’s funds are also not rich in companies such as Google and Baidu. In the second quarter, Yandex reported that it received 280 million U.S. dollars in revenue and net profit of 32 million U.S. dollars. Therefore, under the premise that Yandex's technology, funding, and timing are at a disadvantage, it will take some time to catch up with the former.
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