Baidu to test its self-driving car in US

Baidu is planning to test its autonomous cars in the US, with a goal of building a ‘commercially viable’ car by 2018, according to The Wall Street Journal reports. The firm announced last year that it was looking to develop vehicles that could serve as public shuttles. In 2014, BMW and Baidu announced a partnership to work on self-driving cars, saying the two companies hoped to launch a car together before the end of 2015. That hasn’t happened, but Baidu said last year that it was currently focused more on assisting a driver rather than replacing them entirely. Meanwhile, a number of executives from companies working on self-driving cars testified in front of a US Senate Committee to discuss possible safety regulations and the state of the autonomous car industry. Baidu is one of the many working on the cars, but if its cars are ready for testing on American roads, the company would seem to find itself in good company.