(Yicai Global) Aug. 17 -- Chinese auto giant SAIC launched its artificial intelligence laboratory in Shanghai’s Lingang New Area yesterday, with work set to begin on the company’s Robotaxi 2.0, The Paper reported.

Robotaxi 2.0 is part of the firm’s effort to move into the autonomous ride hailing sector. It’s an upgraded version, and the company has learned from “the experience and lessons from the R&D and operation” of last year’s version 1.0, said Yu Qiankun, the technical executive director of Robotaxi, at a press conference.

Yu said the company aims to achieve centimeter-level accuracy and precision in vehicles’ perception of obstacles within five meters around them using ultrasound technology. This can ensure safety, the company said, even in older communities where roads are narrower and driving can sometimes be a problem.

Yu said he hopes operation will begin at the Lingang facility around the end of October. “In the next step, we will shift the focus of our work to debugging,” Yu added, which will take two or three months.

We are in the early stages of the large-scale application of intelligent connected vehicles, said Wu Xiaohua, deputy-secretary of the Party working committee of Shanghai’s Lingang New Area, during the event. “I believe the most important base for ICVs will be Lingang in three to five years,” Wu said.

SAIC Motor announced it would establish its AI lab in June 2018. In December last year, the company launched Xiangdao Robotaxi, its first Level-4 autonomous driving platform, which is also one of SAIC Motor’s four major strategic projects for innovative development.

Editor: Tom Litting