Microsoft teaming up with Baidu on self-driving car effort

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Microsoft is joining Chinese Internet search giant Baidu's self-driving car alliance, the companies announced on Tuesday.

The US software giant is one of more than 50 entities that have joined the Apollo alliance created by Baidu in April. Microsoft will enable alliance members to collaborate, share information and tap into the analytic power of it's Azure cloud computing outside of China, according to the companies.

"Our goal with Apollo is to provide an open and powerful platform to the automotive industry to further the goal of autonomous vehicles," Baidu president Ya-Qin Zhang said in a release.

Baidu's self-driving car on display at Baidu Create 2017 in Beijing, China. /VCG Photo

The companies did not say why the alliance would not use the Microsoft cloud computing platform inside China. However, as Internet traffic is currently restricted in China as in many other areas globally, it remains uncertain whether Microsoft's platform would be permitted to operate unlimited.

Rather than develop its own self-driving car, Microsoft has been playing to its strength in software by working with automotive companies on systems for turning the massive amounts of data from sensors into "actionable intelligence."

Car makers such as BMW, Ford, and Toyota use or have announced plans to adopt Microsoft's technology to help with services like driver assistance, predictive maintenance and voice-controlled media, according to Microsoft.

Baidu Create 2017 held ‍in Beijing, China. /VCG Photo

"Today's vehicles already have an impressive level of sophistication when it comes to their ability to capture data," said Microsoft corporate vice president Kevin Dallas. "By applying our global cloud AI, machine learning, and deep neural network capabilities to that data, we can accelerate the work already being done to make autonomous vehicles safer."

Most major automakers and several other technology firms have been stepping up efforts on autonomous driving in recent years, contending these systems will eliminate the vast majority of road accidents.

Apple is the latest tech giant to have obtained a testing permit in California. US-based Tesla also is investing in self-driving car capabilities, as are firms in China and other parts of the world.

US car rental giant Avis Budget announced last month that it will team up with Waymo, a subsidiary of Google parent Alphabet, on self-driving cars being tested on Arizona roads.

(Source: AFP)

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