Samsung and Baidu have revealed their plans for development of autonomous vehicles. Their ventures could bring them into competition with Apple, which is heavily rumored to be building an electric car frequently dubbed Project Titan.
It was this week that Samsung, the largest South Korean company by value, publicly announced its impending new business for “building its competencies in infotainment and autonomous driving vehicles”. The new division will be led by Park Jong-Hwan, Samsung’s executive vice president.
Similarly, the Chinese search company Baidu has revealed that it is developing self-driving vehicles to be used as public shuttle buses. According to the Daily Mail, the vehicles are intended to use Baidu’s mapping data and operate on set routes or within pre-specified areas, making them suitable for public transport rather than impulsive consumer travel.