CHINA — The future of buses is here.<br /><br />China's Baidu has announced they have begun production of driverless buses in partnership with Chinese manufacturer King Long, reports Xinhua.<br /><br />Baidu released video footage of the bus, called Apolong, which shows it to be much smaller than a regular sized bus.<br /><br />The buses will first be put to use in cities such as Beijing, Shenzhen and even Tokyo, reports the South China Morning Post.<br /><br />According to Xinhua, the bus will initially be used in tourist spots, airports and other enclosed areas.<br /><br />Local reports say Apolong is capable of Level 4 operations, which means it is able to drive without any drivers in specific areas and has 14 seats inside it with no steering wheel.<br /><br />The autonomous vehicle will be powered by Baidu's own autonomous driving platform.<br /><br />Baidu says they will be working with Mobileye, a subsidiary of Intel, to incorporate the Responsible, Sensitive Safety(RSS) driving model to its buses which would "mimic human judgment" while it's driving.
