BEIJING: Chinese autonomous driving firm Pony.ai says the groundwork for large-scale robotaxi deployment is largely in place, as it pushes to expand services in China and overseas.
CEO James Peng said the company has upgraded the artificial intelligence system behind its vehicles and is working to lower production costs as it moves towards wider commercial rollout.
“I think all the important factors are already in place. Now, we are sort of in the evolution process. It’s just launching more,” Peng said.
AI UPGRADES DRIVE FUTURE GROWTH
At the centre of Pony.ai’s push is an upgrade to its core AI system, known as PonyWorld.
The company said it uses more real-world driving data to better model traffic dynamics and road-user behaviour.
This helps its vehicles respond more effectively in complex driving scenarios.
This process, known as “reinforcement learning”, has been a key feature of the system since its launch three years ago, Peng told CNA on the sidelines of the Auto China show in Beijing on April 24.
But the latest version marks a shift towards more autonomous decision-making, he added.
“We (have) evolved from reinforcement learning into self-learning,” Peng said. “The vehicles actually can judge how good the driving is by themselves.”
