#Baidu Map

[jcmarchi]

Choosing the Eyes of the Autonomous Vehicle: A Battle of Sensors, Strategies, and Trade-Offs

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/choosing-the-eyes-of-the-autonomous-vehicle-a-battle-of-sensors-strategies-and-trade-offs/

Choosing the Eyes of the Autonomous Vehicle: A Battle of Sensors, Strategies, and Trade-Offs

By 2030, the autonomous vehicle market is expected to surpass $2.2 trillion, with millions of cars navigating roads using AI  and advanced sensor systems. Yet amid this rapid growth, a fundamental debate remains unresolved: which sensors are best suited for autonomous driving — lidars, cameras, radars, or something entirely new?

This question is far from academic. The choice of sensors affects everything from safety and performance to cost and energy efficiency. Some companies, like Waymo, bet on redundancy and variety, outfitting their vehicles with a full suite of lidars, cameras, and radars. Others, like Tesla, pursue a more minimalist and cost-effective approach, relying heavily on cameras and software innovation.

Let’s explore these diverging strategies, the technical paradoxes they face, and the business logic driving their decisions.

Why Smarter Machines Demand Smarter Energy Solutions

This is indeed an important issue. I faced a similar dilemma when I launched a drone-related startup in 2013. We were trying to create drones capable of tracking human movement. At that time, the idea was ahead, but it soon became clear that there was a technical paradox.

For a drone to track an object, it must analyze sensor data, which requires computational power — an onboard computer. However, the more powerful the computer needs to be, the higher the energy consumption. Consequently, a battery with more capacity is needed. However, a larger battery increases the drone’s weight, and more weight requires even more energy. A vicious cycle arises: increasing power demands lead to higher energy consumption, weight, and ultimately, cost.

The same problem applies to autonomous vehicles. On the one hand, you want to equip the vehicle with all possible sensors to collect as much data as possible, synchronize it, and make the most accurate decisions. On the other hand, this significantly increases the system’s cost and energy consumption. It’s important to consider not only the cost of the sensors themselves but also the energy required to process their data.

The amount of data is increasing, and the computational load is growing. Of course, over time, computing systems have become more compact and energy-efficient, and software has become more optimized. In the 1980s, processing a 10×10 pixel image could take hours; today, systems analyze 4K video in real-time and perform additional computations on the device without consuming excessive energy. However, the performance dilemma still remains, and AV companies are improving not only sensors but also computational hardware and optimization algorithms.

Processing or Perception?

The performance issues where the system must decide which data to drop are primarily due to computational limitations rather than problems with LiDAR, camera, or radar sensors. These sensors function as the vehicle’s eyes and ears, continuously capturing vast amounts of environmental data. However, if the onboard computing “brain” lacks the processing power to handle all this information in real time, it becomes overwhelming. As a result, the system must prioritize certain data streams over others, potentially ignoring some objects or scenes in specific situations to focus on higher-priority tasks.

This computational bottleneck means that even if the sensors are functioning perfectly, and often they have redundancies to ensure reliability, the vehicle may still struggle to process all the data effectively. Blaming the sensors isn’t appropriate in this context because the issue lies in the data processing capacity. Enhancing computational hardware and optimizing algorithms are essential steps to mitigate these challenges. By improving the system’s ability to handle large data volumes, autonomous vehicles can reduce the likelihood of missing critical information, leading to safer and more reliable operations.

Lidar, Сamera, and Radar systems: Pros & Cons

It’s impossible to say that one type of sensor is better than another — each serves its own purpose. Problems are solved by selecting the appropriate sensor for a specific task.

LiDAR, while offering precise 3D mapping, is expensive and struggles in adverse weather conditions like rain and fog, which can scatter its laser signals. It also requires significant computational resources to process its dense data.

Cameras, though cost-effective, are highly dependent on lighting conditions, performing poorly in low light, glare, or rapid lighting changes. They also lack inherent depth perception and struggle with obstructions like dirt, rain, or snow on the lens.

Radar is reliable in detecting objects in various weather conditions, but its low resolution makes it hard to distinguish between small or closely spaced objects. It often generates false positives, detecting irrelevant items that can trigger unnecessary responses. Additionally, radar cannot decipher context or help identify objects visually, unlike with cameras.

By leveraging sensor fusion — combining data from LiDAR, radar, and cameras — these systems gain a more holistic and accurate understanding of their environment, which in turn enhances both safety and real-time decision-making. Keymakr’s collaboration with leading ADAS developers has shown how critical this approach is to system reliability. We’ve consistently worked on diverse, high-quality datasets to support model training and refinement.

Waymo VS Tesla: A Tale of Two Autonomous Visions

In AV, few comparisons spark as much debate as Tesla and Waymo. Both are pioneering the future of mobility — but with radically different philosophies. So, why does a Waymo car look like a sensor-packed spaceship, while Tesla appears almost free of external sensors?

Let’s take a look at the Waymo vehicle. It’s a base Jaguar modified for autonomous driving. On its roof are dozens of sensors: lidars, cameras, spinning laser systems (so-called “spinners”), and radars. There are truly many of them: cameras in the mirrors, sensors on the front and rear bumpers, long-range viewing systems — all of this is synchronized.

If such a vehicle gets into an accident, the engineering team adds new sensors to gather the missing information. Their approach is to use the maximum number of available technologies.

So why doesn’t Tesla follow the same path? One of the main reasons is that Tesla has not yet released its Robotaxi to the market. Also, their approach focuses on cost minimization and innovation. Tesla believes using lidars is impractical due to their high cost: the manufacturing cost of an RGB camera is about $3, whereas a lidar can cost $400 or more. Furthermore, lidars contain mechanical parts — rotating mirrors and motors—which makes them more prone to failure and replacement.

Cameras, by contrast, are static. They have no moving parts, are much more reliable, and can function for decades until the casing degrades or the lens dims. Moreover, cameras are easier to integrate into a car’s design: they can be hidden inside the body, made nearly invisible.

Production approaches also differ significantly. Waymo uses an existing platform — a production Jaguar — onto which sensors are mounted. They don’t have a choice. Tesla, on the other hand, manufactures vehicles from scratch and can plan sensor integration into the body from the outset, concealing them from view. Formally, they will be listed in the specs, but visually, they’ll be almost unnoticeable.

Currently, Tesla uses eight cameras around the car — in the front, rear, side mirrors, and doors. Will they use additional sensors? I believe so.

Based on my experience as a Tesla driver who has also ridden in Waymo vehicles, I believe that incorporating lidar would improve Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system. It feels to me that Tesla’s FSD currently lacks some accuracy when driving. Adding lidar technology could enhance its ability to navigate challenging conditions like significant sun glare, airborne dust, or fog. This improvement would potentially make the system safer and more reliable compared to relying solely on cameras.

But from the business perspective, when a company develops its own technology, it aims for a competitive advantage — a technological edge. If it can create a solution that is dramatically more efficient and cheaper, it opens the door to market dominance.

Tesla follows this logic. Musk doesn’t want to take the path of other companies like Volkswagen or Baidu, which have also made considerable progress. Even systems like Mobileye and iSight, installed in older cars, already demonstrate decent autonomy.

But Tesla aims to be unique — and that’s business logic. If you don’t offer something radically better, the market won’t choose you.

[zabaloon]

SEARCH ENGINES ARE IMPORTANT

Updated search engines that are active on the internet. Which one do you use? Check out the list!

搜索引擎很重要 更新互联网上活跃的搜索引擎。您使用哪一个？查看列表！

ПОИСКОВЫЕ СИСТЕМЫ ВАЖНЫ Обновленные поисковые системы, которые активны в Интернете. Какой из них вы используете? Проверьте список!

LOS MOTORES DE BÚSQUEDA SON IMPORTANTES Motores de búsqueda actualizados y activos en internet. ¿Cuál usas? ¡Consulta la lista!

เครื่องมือค้นหามีความสำคัญ เครื่องมือค้นหาที่อัปเดตล่าสุดและใช้งานบนอินเทอร์เน็ต คุณใช้เครื่องมือค้นหาตัวใด ลองดูรายการ!

検索エンジンは重要です インターネット上でアクティブな最新の検索エンジン。どれを使用していますか? リストを確認してください!

....................................

Zabaloon is a global platform with the largest database of websites, links and general image catalogs. Every day, dozens of pages are stored on the platform. We are a kind of digital library founded in 2015, created by Mr. Vinni Maciel.

[karrahleia]

Love and Deepspace X Baidu Maps

Xavier and Rafayel are about to get in trouble for some traffic violations. Zayne is just trying to make sure he arrives on time. Sylus is over there doing some stretches, getting ready. And then there's Caleb with his plane.

[miyamiwu]

Official art for the upcoming “Pain” MV

I need them carnally...

Xia Fei’s background is reminding me of this elevator in Lu Guang’s nightmare at the beginning of YE3:

not to mention that Xia Fei’s designs in the M.O.D album is full of green

Red and green are contrasting colors in the color wheel. Green and Red together are more obvious in Vein’s character PV, “Burning Palace,” but it’s also subtly present in Xia Fei’s “Rent a Shell.”

They are a pair, your honor. Xia Fei is the green to Vein’s red—WAIT. VEIN IS A DRAGON. RED-GREEN CONTRASTS. XIA FEI IS VEIN’S REVERSE SCALE!!!

From Xia Fei’s character profile in Map of Dreams, translated by qhqfeihuo on Twitter

Dragon’s Reverse Scale (龙之逆鳞)

too lazy to translate right now, so have a google-translated definition from Baidu:

“If you touch the reverse scale of a dragon, you will die.” There is a saying in ancient China that there is a scale on the dragon’s neck that grows backwards. If anyone touches it, the dragon will kill him. Generally speaking, reverse scale refers to taboo or bottom line, which cannot be touched. If touched, it will inevitably cause a strong backlash. Therefore, it is also extended to a metaphor for the weak spot of the person in power. Whoever touches it will die.

[mykingdomforapen]

It would be easier for Lu Guang to simply swallow it down and bear it. But it wouldn’t be right. 

In truth, nothing felt right. Heels of his hands pressed against his swollen, dry eyes, a crick in his neck, his heart trapped in his throat. One side of his head felt like it was being pulverized, the pain of the migraine stirring up trouble in his stomach. And Cheng Xiaoshi’s dulcet tones in his ear, his pleas no longer endearing. 

Lu Guang squeezed his eyes shut at Cheng Xiaoshi’s insistence. 

“Lu Guang, come on,” he said urgently. “We need to finish this.” 

This was a pile of photographs lined up across their coffee table, marked in chronological order, detailing the lifespan of a relationship between two cousins. The boys had grown up together like twins, Qiao Ling had told them when she outlined the case for them, but then grew apart after one of the cousins developed a gambling addiction. The last straw was when he stole money from his cousin’s mother to feed the insatiable beast, and the cousin cut ties. 

He suspects that his cousin also stole their grandmother’s jade, Qiao Ling told Lu Guang in preparation for the case. He wants us to help confirm if that’s true, and if so–if he sold it. 

Which would have been straightforward enough, if the gambling cousin was still alive. Unfortunately, he wasn’t. 

Hence, the ten plus photographs on the living room coffee table. 

Lu Guang shifted his hands from his eyes to his temples, giving them a sorry massage that only made him more miserable. He had been poring through photos for hours now, each of them a photo uploaded to the gamblin cousin’s cloud that the client had managed to pull, dating from five years ago–when the grandmother’s jewelry had gone missing–to five months ago, when the cousin had been found dead in his tiny apartment reeking of alcohol and debt. He scoured every interaction the cousin had with their elderly grandmother for any sign of theft, while Cheng Xiaoshi dived into any photo where he could root around the cousin’s apartment for proof. 

Even after five hours straight, they could neither confirm nor deny anything. The instant noodles that Qiao Ling had brought over to them had grown cold and untouched on the side. Lu Guang’s scalp scalded with the migraine, and Cheng Xiaoshi stank heavily of eucalyptus oil smeared under his nose to assuage the nausea that came from back-to-back diving. Lu Guang could smell its medicinal chill when Cheng Xiaoshi came too close to his ear. 

“Can you please back off?” Lu Guang said through gritted teeth.

Cheng Xiaoshi huffed as he threw himself backwards on the chair. Lu Guang avoided looking anywhere in his direction as he unscrewed a bottle of soy milk to ease his chapped throat. Cheng XIaoshi fared none better, but he had the self-perception of a goldfish to mask it. 

“We’re so close, though,” Cheng Xiaoshi said. “There were addresses to jewelry shops on his Baidu Maps search history. If we can find a photo that happened either right before or right after that one, I’m sure I can find more–” 

“Cheng Xiaoshi, we’ve been at this for almost six hours,” Lu Guang groaned. “Taking a break for at least thirty minutes won’t make a difference.” 

Cheng Xiaoshi huffed until his bangs flopped carelessly across his forehead. Lu Guang wiped his lips with the back of his hand, gagging slightly. 

“What if I forget?” said Cheng Xiaoshi.

Lu Guang exhaled deeply, teeth clenched and nostrils flaring so that it came more as the exasperated hiss of a steamer. 

“Then write it down, idiot,” he snapped. “Am I your mother?” 

Cheng Xiaoshi’s jaw clenched instinctively, just as Lu Guang’s did the same–for a moment, hesitating, ready to bite down on the words before they escaped his mouth. But they had punched their way through his teeth nonetheless, and at the end of the day, Lu Guang would have let them. Even if he knew that, while he never commented on it, it stung Cheng Xiaoshi. 

Because Lu Guang had said the same the first time they had this argument. 

-

The first time they had this argument, Lu Guang was still only twenty years old. He and Cheng Xiaoshi muddled through their abilities with curiosity and bravado. The only thing Lu Guang was afraid of was drowning, and it was abstract. 

The first time, Lu Guang grumbled at Cheng Xiaoshi. I’m tired, asshole, he said. Can’t you give me a break? Cheng Xiaoshi said something tone deaf–but you don’t even have to dive, you can just sit there and tell me what to do, it’s easy for you–and at that, Lu Guang stomped up to the bedroom, muttering it’s useless trying to argue with you to himself as he locked the door behind him. He burrowed himself angrily in the bedsheets and didn’t emerge until Cheng Xiaoshi cooked an entire apology dinner. 

I’m sorry, Cheng Xiaoshi said quietly when Lu Guang stuffed his mouths with softened carrots. Do you–do you want to talk about it? 

He said it with his back straight, even though his spine was shaking. Arguments rarely ended well in his experience–usually with a fist to the cheek, or a door slammed in his face while all the neighbors looked disapprovingly at him with full assurance that he was in the wrong. For Cheng Xiaoshi to be able to talk to Lu Guang took a bravery and a faith that he had to fight for, that he had to learn with blood, sweat, and tears to get through this life. 

Yeah, Lu Guang mumbled. I do, and they had finally laid their abilities on the table next to the pot of pork shoulder soup and small bowls of dipping sauce. This was new to the both of them, their magic of a great price, and they were learning their breaking points together. Lu Guang shared his needs to be met, Cheng Xiaoshi his fears of being of no help to others, opening their hearts to make space to grow, and at the end when Cheng Xiaoshi asked Are we okay now? Lu Guang said, Even better. 

So Lu Guang couldn’t grin and bear it, as much as he hated this frustration, this headache, the thought of tossing and turning on the top bunk with a heavy, hurting heart. He and Cheng Xiaoshi needed this moment where they grew so that the other could take up more space in their lives. Cheng Xiaoshi needed to learn that he would be loved even if he was upsetting. Lu Guang needed to learn to be honest. They were precious truths that would have carried them through the rest of their lives, if Cheng Xiaoshi had lived long enough for it. 

-

Except this was the second time Lu Guang was having this argument. Everything should be the same, but he wasn’t. 

He wasn’t because Cheng Xiaoshi was dead, and yet alive for now. Because Cheng Xiaoshi’s mission-driven stubbornness was what got him killed, and Lu Guang now could see the all bloodred flags leading up to September. Because Lu Guang could now name the anxiety that drove Cheng Xiaoshi into doing things now, before the wait of them consumed him alive, but Cheng Xiaoshi couldn’t yet and Lu Guang had to keep it to himself. Because he and Cheng Xiaoshi were plunging into the photos of a dead man over and over again, and every time Cheng Xiaoshi said something honest about it, Lu Guang had to swallow down how sick it made him feel. It’s so messed up, Lu Guang, Cheng Xiaoshi had said, that this guy has been dead for half a year, and I feel his heart beating in my chest. Lu Guang buried his face in his hands and tried not to cry, even when Cheng Xiaoshi was not here to see it. 

“Then write it down, idiot,” Lu Guang said, only realising belatedly he never said the last word the first time round. “Am I your mother?” 

Cheng Xiaoshi flinched. Lu Guang didn’t remember that. He thought Cheng Xiaoshi only gritted his teeth. There was a gleam in Cheng Xiaoshi’s eyes that could either be tears or nausea, but Lu Guang knew better than to point it out. Any time Lu Guang pointed out where Cheng Xiaoshi was falling apart at the seams, he would dismiss them like they meant nothing, like they weren’t the reason Lu Guang couldn’t sleep at night, terrified of morning. 

“The hell is wrong with you?” Cheng Xiaoshi muttered. 

“I’m tired, asshole!” Lu Guang snapped. He didn’t need a script for this. He felt sick to his stomach. He felt like nothing was ever going to be right, and he didn’t know how to make it better. He didn’t know what to do. “Can’t you give me a break?” 

“But you don’t even have to dive!” Cheng Xiaoshi protested. “You can just sit there and tell me what to do, it’s easy for you!” 

Was it easy? Was it easy to watch Cheng Xiaoshi throw himself into the past over and over again and shrug off Lu Guang’s concern as unnecessary, until he ended up on the wrong side of the bullet? To try again and again to look for what went wrong in the past, obsessing over each detail and torn butterfly wing until he scrounged for the right answer? To feel old and young at once, helpless and culpable simultaneously? To constantly lie, even though he was supposed to have grown to be honest? 

Go upstairs, his memory urged him. Lock the door behind you. Go. 

But something fiercer, louder than his memory took hold of him, balling itself into a fiery pit in his throat and scalding its way out of him. 

“It’s easy for me?” Lu Guang choked out. “Is it? I’m the one who has to try and figure out how to fix everything! I have to fix everything, and you never think twice!” 

Lu Guang felt the tears bully their way to his lashes, no matter how much he tried to fight them back. He stared at Cheng Xiaoshi until his vision blurred with sickness and fury, the boy he was supposed to save and couldn’t help but fail. I don’t know what to do, his soul cried out. I’m the only one who can fix this and I don’t even know what to do. 

“Useless!” Lu Guang hurled. 

He didn’t know to whom he was shouting it, but he knew as soon as it landed that he aimed it at the wrong place. Cheng Xiaoshi froze, breath stuck midway up his throat, eyes wide as if he had been shot in the stomach, and Lu Guang knew that look too well. He went as still as stone, scarcely breathing as Lu Guang’s voice settled like the remains of an earthquake, leaving behind silent wreckage. 

Lu Guang caught up with his breath, dizzy with the catharsis, until its tingling numbness gave way to sudden realization. This was not how any of this was supposed to go.  

Cheng Xiaoshi blinked rapidly, looking away–the tightening of his jaw could not mask the way his lips shook. 

“Forget it, then,” Cheng Xiaoshi muttered. “Let’s just–yeah. Break. Sounds good.” 

He stood up from the seat and left the room quickly, shoving his hands into his jacket pocket. He hurried out the front door of the shop, the twinkling of the door bell the only thing keeping Lu Guang company as he was left behind in the sunroom.

[affairsmastery]

Google has taken the lead in renaming the Gulf of Mexico to the "Gulf of America" on its maps, following Donald Trump’s executive order. However, other major mapping services like Apple Maps, Baidu Maps, and Bing Maps have yet to adopt the change, leaving users with mixed results depending on the platform.

While Google displays the new name prominently, it inconsistently switches between "Gulf of America" and "Gulf of Mexico (Gulf of America)" when zooming in or out. Apple Maps is expected to update soon, but for now, the Gulf of Mexico remains unchanged across most platforms.

This shift highlights the complexities tech companies face in balancing policy compliance with global consistency. Stay tuned as more updates unfold!

[eat-tea]

How to buy Chinese Audio Dramas and Translate Subtitles

Payment method

The easiest payment method is by connecting Alipay as the exchange rate will be based on the bank you use. Apple users can use Apple Pay. Google users can use Google Pay. However, some people said their exchange rate there were high.

Common platform:

Maoer, Manbo, Ximalaya.

You MUST have the APP to login and use the full features.

Update: 15 Mar 2025

************************************************

Maoer FM

1. System

Maoer only uses buy out system. You have to buy the whole season to listen. There are a few free AD but they are mostly for practice and not completed.

You can win an entire season of AD by entering a giveaway in the search section. You will enter a live broadcast and participate by following the host and clicking the join button.

2. Currency

Currency used to buy dramas: diamonds.

10 diamond = 1 RMB.

Common price for 1 season: 200-250 diamonds (>20 RMB).

You can get 1-10 free diamonds everyday from:

Watching 15 minutes of live streaming (you can also do this while waiting for the giveaway result).

Advice: LS Lurkers might be blocked. Either send the cheapest gift (1💎) next to the chat box, send messages, or go to different streamer each time.

Logging in to Baidu maps through Maoer

3. Dried Fish

You get dried fish when you log in everyday. You can give it to AD episodes or songs to increase its popularity.

4. Translation

Open Maoer website on a browser with web translation tool (e.g. Edge, Chrome).

Activate the translation tool.

Login.

Open the audio drama and play it (the play button s at the bottom).

Check if the change of subtitles is translated correctly according to the dialogs.

************************************************

Manbo FM

1. System

Manbo has buy out (per season) and VIP membership system. There are also some free ADs.

Audiobooks can be bought per episode.

2. Currency

Currency used: red beans.

100 red beans = 1 RMB.

Common price for 1 season: 2000-3000 red beans (>20 RMB)

You can get 10 red beans every day from entering the top live broadcast and snatching red envelopes.

3. VIP membership

The VIP dramas can only be watched by buying VIP.

VIP membership plans:

Monthly with 1st month discount (15 RMB/month).

3 monthly (39 RMB).

3 months not continuous (49 RMB).

1 year not continuous (168 RMB).

1 month not continuous (18 RMB).

VIP benefit:

Obtain stars, double claws, and 50 red beans after logging in everyday.

Every month you also get 1 VIP ticket.

VIP ticket:

When you have VIP, you can also use tickets to buy VIP dramas so that you can listen to it when your VIP ends.

Common price: 4 VIP tickets/season

1 ticket = 100 claws.

You get 1 claw every day when you log in without VIP.

You can also get 1-30 (usually 1) free claws by obtaining EXP until the second achievement in the 快速升级 tab is achieved.

You can get EXP by watching ADs, Live Streams, or Short Videos.

Advice: LS Lurkers might be blocked. Either send the cheapest gift (10🫘) next to the chat box, send messages, or go to different streamer each time.

4. Translation

Open Manbo website on a browser with web translation tool (e.g. Edge, Chrome). You can also easily do this by sharing the link from the app to yourself.

Activate the translation tool.

Login using the QR code.

Open the audio drama and play it.

Check if the change of subtitles is translated correctly according to the dialogs.

More info:

[xingxueyue]

Upcoming collaboration Love and DeepSpace x Baidu Map Sample Voice Pack

[mariacallous]

Elon Musk will be pleased that his surprise jaunt to China on Sunday garnered many glowing headlines. The trip was undoubtedly equally a surprise to Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, who had been scheduled to offer Musk the red carpet on a long-arranged visit.

The billionaire blew off India at the last minute, citing “very heavy Tesla obligations.” Indeed, Tesla has had a tumultuous couple of weeks, with federal regulator slap-downs, halved profits, and price-cut rollouts. Yet, in a very public snub that Modi won’t quickly forget, the company CEO made time for Chinese premier Li Qiang. And well Musk might. Tesla needs China more than China needs Tesla. After the US, China is Tesla’s second biggest market. And ominously, in the first quarter of the year, Tesla’s sales in China slipped by 4 percent in a domestic EV market that has expanded by more than 15 percent. That’s enough of a hit for any CEO to jump in a Gulfstream and fly across the Pacific for an impromptu meeting with a Chinese premier. Globally, Tesla has lost nearly a third of its value since January, and earlier this month, Tesla’s worldwide vehicle deliveries in the first quarter fell for the first time in almost four years. As they are wont to do, Tesla investors continue to complain over repeated delays to the company’s rollout of cars with genuine driverless capabilities.

One of Tesla’s stop-gap technologies—a now heavily-discounted $8,000 add-on—is marketed as Full Self-Driving, or FSD. But, like the similarly confusingly named Autopilot feature, it still requires driver attention, and may yet still prove to be risky. Among the deals said to have been unveiled at Sunday’s meeting with Li Qiang was a partnership granting Tesla access to a mapping license for data collection on China’s public roads by web search company Baidu. This was a “watershed moment,” Wedbush Securities senior analyst Dan Ives said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. However, Tesla has been using Baidu for in-car mapping and navigation in China since 2020. The revised deal, in which Baidu will now also provide Tesla with its lane-level navigation system, clears one more regulatory hurdle for Tesla’s FSD in China. It does not enable Tesla to introduce driverless cars in China or anywhere else, as some media outlets have reported. Press reports have also claimed that Musk has secured permission to transfer data collected by Tesla cars in China out of China. This is improbable, noted JL Warren Capital CEO and head of research Junheng Li, who wrote on X: “[Baidu] owns all data, and shares filtered data with Tesla. Just imagine if [Tesla] has access to real-time road data such as who went to which country’s embassy at what time for how long.” That, she stressed, would be “super national security!” According to Reuters, Musk is still seeking final approval for the FSD software rollout in China, and Tesla still needs permission to transfer data overseas. Li added that a rollout of even a “supervised,” data-lite version of FSD in China is “extremely unlikely.” She pointed to challenges for Tesla to support local operation of the software. Tesla still “has no [direct] access to map data in China as a foreign entity,” she wrote. Instead, Tesla is likely using the deal extension with Baidu as an FSD workaround, with the data collected in China very much staying in China. Despite this, Tesla shares have jumped following news of the expanded Baidu collaboration. Furthermore, Li said there’s “no strategic value” for Beijing to favor FSD when there are several more advanced Chinese alternatives. (We’ve tested them.)

“Chinese EVs are simply evolving at a far faster pace than Tesla,” agrees Shanghai-based automotive journalist and WIRED contributor Mark Andrews, who tested the driver assistance tech available on the roads in China. The US-listed trio of Xpeng, Nio, and Li Auto offer better-than-Tesla “driving assistance features” that rely heavily on lidar sensors, a technology that Musk previously dismissed, but which Tesla is now said to be testing. Although dated in shape and lacking in the latest tech, a Tesla car is nevertheless more expensive in China than most of its rivals. Tesla recently slashed prices in China to arrest falling sales. Musk’s flying visit to China smacked of “desperation,” says Mark Rainford, owner of the Inside China Auto channel. “[Tesla] sales are down in China—the competition has weathered the price cuts so far and [the Tesla competitors have] a seemingly endless conveyor belt of talented and beautiful products.” Rainford further warns that the “golden period for Tesla in China” is “at great risk of collapsing.” Tesla opened its first gigafactory in Shanghai five years ago, and it is now the firm’s largest—but the automaker has been playing tech catchup in China for some time. In addition to Xpeng, Nio, and Li, there are other Chinese car companies competing with Tesla on autonomous driving, as Musk will see if he visits the Beijing Motor Show, which runs through this week.

Beijing is now arguably the world’s preeminent automotive expo, but Tesla is not exhibiting—a sign that it has little new to offer famously tech-hungry Chinese autobuyers. Pointedly, the Cybertruck is not road-legal in China, although that hasn’t stopped Tesla from displaying the rust-prone electric pickup in some of its Chinese showrooms. Likewise, Tesla has just announced plans for a European Cybertruck tour. But, just like in China, the EV pickup cannot be sold in the EU, either—and according to Tesla's lead on vehicle engineering, it likely never will be.

Speaking on tighter pedestrian safety regulations in the EU compared to the US, Tesla’s vice president of vehicle engineering, Lars Moravy, told Top Gear that “European regulations call for a 3.2-mm external radius on external projections. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to make a 3.2-mm radius on a 1.4-mm sheet of stainless steel.”

The “Cybertruck Odyssey” tour—as Tesla’s European X account calls it—may titillate Tesla fans, but it could prove to be about as useful as shooting a Roadster into space.

[wayvment]

Winwin Baidu Maps Introduction and Navigation End Message

I’m Winwin, the navigation has started, next, listen to my instructions, you’ll never get lost following me

The navigation ends here, sure enough, perfect moments are not simple encounters

[kennak]

（3/26追記） たくさん見ていただいてありがとうございます。事前準備は大変でしたが、それでも現地で苦労したこともありました。しかし、それを上回る食事の良さと観光地の壮大さが味わえました。中国は怖い、と思ってる人も多くいると思いますが、現地で言葉がわからず苦労している我々に一生懸命手を差し伸べようとしてくる親切な人も数多くいたことをお伝えしておきます。 ・３世代の続柄がよくわからない　→増田を起点に母、増田、子の３世代です。修正しました。 ・ホテルの値段を知りたい　→追記しました。日本のHilton系よりも安いと思う。 ・中国プリペイドSIMはLINE使える？　→使えます。Google/Facebook/Xも問題なしでした。 ・スマホないと無理レベル？　→旅行者は無理だと思う。ただ同行者全員がこの準備をする必要はない。今回は大人数で��クシー２台移動もあるため、増田夫婦２人がWeChat PayとAlipayを準備しておいた。（DiDiで２台同時に呼べない） ・Trip.com、タクシーに関する情報を追記 以下本文 -------------------- 2025年3月に増田母/義母（後期高齢者）、増田夫婦（アラフィフ）、増田子（未成年）の3世代で中国北京に5泊6日で旅行してきた。事前にネットで情報収集したが、ガイドブック含めて日本語でアクセスできる最新情報が少なく苦労したので、誰かの役に立つことを願って備忘録として記載しておく。 目次 ・事前準備 ・ホテルの予約 ・交通状況 ・観光地（次回） ・食事（次回） 事前準備 ・中国電話番号付きSIMカード（プリペイド）の契約 WeChat Pay、AliPayは日本の携帯電話番号でも登録して、支払いのアクティベーションまで完了することはできるが、DiDiの利用や故宮の予約などを考えると中国電話番号が欲しいと思い契約した。私が契約したのはamazonでも売っているChina UnicomのeSIM「中国電話番号付きシーズンSIM」。中国本土だけでなく日本でも中国電話番号宛てのSMSが受信できるところがミソで、このおかげでBaiduのアカウントも作成できたし、故宮の予約も日本で取得できた。 90日間有効でデータ容量は6GBだが、1週間程度の旅行であれば十分かと思う。足りなければチャージ＆期間延長できる。GoogleのサービスやLINEも使えた。今回宿泊したHilton系ホテルのWiFiでもLINEなどは制限されていて利用できなかったのでこれがあってよかった。 私のスマホ（Google Pixel 8 Pro）は物理SIM利用なので、このeSIMを追加して2本差し状態にしておけば現地で特に何もすることなくすぐに使える。 ・WeChat（微信）とAlipay（支付宝） 支払いはこの2つのアプリをそれぞれインストールしておき、アカウント登録（要パスポート）とクレジットカード紐づけまでを日本で完了させておく。ほとんどの店でどちらも使うことができるが、バックアップ用として両方ともが望ましい。紐づけるクレジットカードは別会社にしておくと更に良い。私は旅行中にAMEXに不正利用確認として2度止められてWeChat Payが利用できなくなり、JCBを紐づけたAlipayで支払って難を逃れたことがあった。 支払いだけでなく、それぞれのアプリからミニプログラムを起動して故宮などの観光地の予約やDiDiでのタクシー配車をするので、これがないと何も始まらない。逆に現金はまったく不要だった。今回の旅行では中国元への両替を行わずにすべての観光ができたし、なんなら硬貨、紙幣含めて使われているのを見てもいない。 ・百度地図 Google Mapは中国だとまったく役に立たない（地図の内容と位置情報が合っていない）ので、百度地図か高徳地図のいずれかを使わないといけない。私は百度地図しか使わなかったので高徳地図のことはわからない。百度地図が使いやすいか？と言うとそんなことはなく、中国語以外の言語は選択できないのでGoogleレンズの翻訳とにらめっこしながら後は慣れで乗り切るしかない。また、Baiduアカウントがないと地点の「お気に入り登録」ができず、Baiduアカウントは中国の電話番号がないと作成できないという問題もある。今回は日本でもSMS受信可能な中国電話番号付きSIMを購入したのでBaiduアカウントの作成に成功し、Google Mapに近い感じで利用することができた。 なお、Google Mapでホテルの場所を確認するとまったく別の場所を表示されるので自力で行こうとするとホテルにたどり着けない可能性もある。ホテルの場所は百度地図で確認しておくとよい。 ・Trip.com 中国国内の高速鉄道が予約できる。Web版もあるがアプリを入れた。今回は雲崗石窟（大同南）と万里の長城（八達嶺長城）の往復2回、高速鉄道に乗ったが、GUIもわかりやすく日本語表示可能なのであまり苦労しないで列車予約できると思う。思ったより発券手数料がかかるが他に選択肢がないのでどうしようもない。 （追記）利用登録にはパスポートが必要。また同行者のチケットを購入するときも同乗者のパスポート情報が必要なので、何度も購入するのであれば事前に同行者情報を登録しておくと便利。あと、１回の発券では５人分までしか購入できない。今回の旅は大人数のため２回に分けて購入が必要だった。 ホテルの予約 私はHilton Honors会員なので、今回はHilton系しか調べていない宿泊していないので参考にならないと思う。HiltonのWebサイトから北京（Beijing）で調べていくと、ラグジュアリー系のウォルドルフ・アストリア、コンラッドから、ヒルトン、ダブルツリーのアッパー系、アッパーミドルのHilton Garden Inn、Hamptonなど10個以上が見つかる。後述するように地下鉄が安く、タクシーが便利で安いので、ものすごく辺鄙な場所でなければ、あとは予算や志向に合わせて決めれば良いと思う。 今回の旅は、Hilton Garden Inn Beijing Guomaoに3泊、Conrad Beijingに2泊した。北京市内でホテルをはしごするのは面倒ではあったが、アッパーミドル→ラグジュアリーとグレードアップすることで終わりの印象がよい旅になったと思う。 Hilton Garden Inn Beijing Guomao（北京国貿希尓頓花園酒店） 2025年3月上旬に開業（おそらくHiltonブランドへの変更リニューアル��思う）したばかりだったので、設備も新しくキレイだった。トイレもウォシュレット完備だが、バスタブはなくシャワーのみ。朝食ビュッフェ（60元/人）、無料ランドリー、トレーニングマシン室もあるので、長期滞在でもリーズナブルかつ便利に過ごせると思う。スタッフはごく一部しか英語を話せないが、一生懸命理解しようとしてくれるし、日本人ならではとして漢字で筆談できるのでなんとかなる。最寄り駅は国貿（Guomao）ではなく永安里から徒歩5分ちょっと。永安里は１路線（地鉄１号線）のみだが天安門や王府井から３〜４駅と近く拠点としても優秀な部類だと思う。レストランの併設はないが近くに四川料理店があるのと、DiDi呼んで食べに行けばよいので困らない。 （追記）3部屋3泊で約7,700元（朝食付き）だったので、1部屋（2人ないし3人まで宿泊可）の1泊分は約18,000円。 Conrad Beijing（北京康莱德酒店） Hilton系列のラグジュアリークラスだが、繁華街の王府井にあるHilton Hotel やウォルドルフ・アストリアに比べたら安価。ラグジュアリーではあるが2013年開業なので設備はあまり新しくない。トイレもウォシュレットはなかった。シャワー室のほかバスタブが窓際にセパレートであるのでゆったりと過ごせる。地下にプールがあるらしいが今回は行かなかったので不明。朝食はさすがの高級ホテルのビュッフェという感じ。上記のHilton Garden Innも悪くなかったが、比べてみると種類、質とも圧倒的。あと市街観光していても西洋系、アラブ系の外国人をほとんど見ることはなかったが、Conradにはいっぱいいた。みなさん、ここにいたのね。 （追記）3部屋3泊で1部屋はエクストラベッド追加で約11,000元（朝食付き）だったので、こちらは1部屋1泊分は約38,500円。 交通状況 ・Beijing PASS いわゆるSuica/PASMOと同じような非接触型のチャージ式切符であり、ガイドブック等を読んだ限りでは便利そうだと思い空港で購入したが、買う必要はなかったなと思う。人数も多かったのでいちいち1枚ずつチャージするより、切符を券売機でまとめて購入するほうが楽だったので、チャージが切れたあとは使っていない。少人数で地下鉄中心で移動する場合は購入してもよいかもだが、WeChat PayやAlipayで直接改札で支払い可能なので、個人旅行だとやっぱり不要。 ・地下鉄（地鉄） ものすごく地下鉄網が発達していて南北東西に走る線路のほか、環状線が大小あり至る所で乗換駅がある感じ。そして安い。初乗りは3元からで乗換含めて40〜50分地下鉄で移動しても6元とか。お金はあまり使いたくないが体力がある人には地下鉄がおすすめ。ただ、古い路線（1号線とか2号線）はエレベータどころかエスカレータもなく、年寄や足が悪い人には向かない。タクシーも日本に比べてずっと安いので、体力に自信のない人はタクシーを活用したほうが良い。私たちは朝は地下鉄で目的地まで行って、その後は無理をせずタクシーを使って移動していた。あと、だいたいどんな駅でも入口でセキュリティチェックを受ける。 ・タクシー 日本だとタクシー配車アプリを使ったことはほとんどないが、中国ではDiDiというアプリ一択の状況。WeChat、AlipayのそれぞれのアプリからミニプログラムとしてDiDiが起動できるので、DiDiアプリをダウンロードしておく必要もない。使い方は英語画面だが直感でなんとかなる。自分の位置情報が表示されるので”Where to go”から行きたいところを検索して指定して、どのクラスの車を呼ぶか（複数選択可）を選べば、あとは数秒で自動でマッチングして自分の居場所まで来てくれる。アプリには車のナンバーだけでなく、メーカーや車種なども表示される（されない場合もある）し、どこから向かってるかなどの位置情報もわかるので、あ、あれかも？とナンバーが見えなくてもなんとなくわかる。車が来ているのにこちらが見つけられないと、SMSや電話がかかってくる場合もあるが、中国語が話せないとわかると向こうからキャンセルされる。その場合は、落ち着いてもう一度配車申し込みすればよい。 値段は20kmぐらい移動しても50元（1,000円）いかないぐらい。中心部にある観光地から周縁部のホテルに戻るぐらいの距離なら20〜30元でいける。3人旅であれば地下鉄よりもちょっと高いぐらいで楽々移動できる。 （追記）空港や主要駅などでは、タクシー（白タクではない正規のもの）も客待ちしている。DiDi配車の待ち合わせスペースに行こうとすると必ずタクシーの運ちゃんの客引きに合う。彼らは私が”I can't speak Chinese”と言ってもお構いなしにずっと声がけしてきてつきまとってくるので、かなりうざい。 声がけには白タクの人も混じってくるので無視するに限るが、正規のタクシーで目的地が有名どころではっきりしていれば特に問題ないと思う。 DiDiは目的の車が来たら自分で助手席を開けて、自分の携帯電話番号の下４桁を運転手に伝えることで確認完了となる。WeChat PayやAlipayに登録した番号がそのままDiDiに連携される仕組み。増田は中国SIMの電話番号に登録変更していたのでそっちを伝える。英語だと通じないことがあるので、そこだけは中国語の数字を覚えるか、紙に書いて見せるのでもよい。数字は麻雀知ってる人はそんなに苦にならないと思う。リン、イー、アル、サン、スー、ウー、リュウ、チー、バー、ジュウなので、０８３４なら「リン・バー・サン・スー」とはっきり言えば伝わらないことはなかった。 ・高速鉄道（高鉄） 長距離移動の場合は、高速鉄道（新幹線）を使う。北京にはいくつか���高速鉄道駅があるが、今回は北京北駅と清河駅の２つしか使っていないので、それ以外はよくわからない。パリやロンドンと同じく行き先別で駅を使い分ける感じなんだと思う。（東京は東京駅に行けばどこにでも行けるのと対照的だ） そして高速鉄道駅はものすごくでかい。庇のついた巨大な駅舎で内部も余裕があり、こんなに大きくする必要もないだろうと思うが、中国の人口を考えると繁忙期には激混みするのかもしれない。 チケットの購入はTrip.comで行った。他に方法があるのかは不明だが、日本語表示可能で直感的に使えるGUIなので発券手数料高くても不満はない。チケットの予約は2週間前から可能だが、それ以前から購入予約をすることができる。春節などの繁忙期は列車が満員になることもあるらしい。 座席は1等席、2等席のほか、ビジネス席やファミリー席などがある列車もある。1等席以上は座席数も少ないので希望する場合は早めに予約を。あと1等席は飲み物（今回の旅では”お湯”だった）とスナックがついた。 （追記）セキュリティチェックも厳重で駅の建物に入るとき、出発待ちの待合室に入るときの２回のチェックがある。

2025年3月北京旅行備忘録

[weebz182]

Infinity Nikki - Brand Collaboration

Stylists the Chinese server announced a massive brand collaboration lineup!🤯

-Over 40 brands revealed, with more details and collaboration formats to be revealed soon.

Brands include ⬇️

@ALIENWARE @AppStore @Baidu Maps @Baidu Netdisk @Bilibili Game Channel @BOSS Zhipin @RT-Mart @DJI @DingTalk @TikTok @Lark (Feishu) @Tomato Novel @JustNow @AMAP (AutoNavi) @Huawei @IELTS Official @Driving Test Manual @Keep @Coca-Cola @KFC @Kuaishou Game Live @Lenovo Legion @Luckin Coffee @LaoXiangJi @Prince Spicy Strips @McDonald's @Maimai @Meituan @Meitu Xiuxiu @Mixue Bingcheng @OPPO @PlayStation China @Pinduoduo @QQ Music @CamScanner @Shanghai Disney Resort @TapTap @TOEFL Official @Taobao @vivo @NetEase Cloud Music @Weibo Games @5-Year Gaokao, 3-Year Simulated Exam @Xianyu (Idle Fish) @Xiaomi @Xingtu App @Alipay @Zhuanzhuan

[trans-ralsei]

if there's anything that AI has really helped me with (apart from wasting huge amounts of water), it's with basically selling the concept of me as an employable person.

I rarely use AI outside of work and I don't use it to generate images. But what I've asked it to do is to try and write summaries and cover letters because there are a billion fucking jobs out there and it's so fucking dire. I really can't stand trying to apply for 20 jobs per month after hours of draining work only to have no one fucking call back.

And it's doing a better job at projecting this confident version of myself, this confident Ellis, than I am. In effect I have to water down what it says 90% of the time (as a sensible writer I do not fucking copy and paste what it says)

read this part of the biography that i asked it to write for my muckrack profile which i eventually omitted:

Throughout my career, I've developed a specialised toolkit that includes verification techniques, geolocation, chronolocation, and various technical platforms like Google Earth, Baidu Maps, and SunCalc. I'm also proficient in media monitoring tools including X Pro (formerly TweetDeck), Weibo, CrowdTangle, FlightRadar24, and MarineTraffic.

This is such a fucking lie lol. All I did was to spend like two weekends putting together geolocation quizzes for the new folk joining my team, and that was. what. four years ago. crowdtangle is also dead, so selling that seems so weird. (FUCK meta.)

but yeah you gotta sell yourself, your brain and your body, so...

[machine-saint]

Chinese regulations require that approved map service providers in China use a specific coordinate system, called GCJ-02 (colloquially Mars Coordinates). Baidu Maps uses yet another coordinate system - BD-09, which seems to be based on GCJ-02.

GCJ-02 (officially Chinese: 地形图非线性保密处理算法; lit. 'Topographic map non-linear confidentiality algorithm') is a geodetic datum used by the Chinese State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping (Chinese: 国测局; pinyin: guó-cè-jú), and based on WGS-84. It uses an obfuscation algorithm which adds apparently random offsets to both the latitude and longitude, with the alleged goal of improving national security.

[...]

Despite the secrecy surrounding the GCJ-02 obfuscation, several open-source projects exist that provide conversions between GCJ-02 and WGS-84, for languages including C#, C, Go, Java, JavaScript, PHP, Python, R, and Ruby.

lol

[rlyehtaxidermist]

the funnier fact is that the only places these maps don't exist is china. because china has legal restrictions on commercial GPS mapping, including a dedicated algorithm to scramble GPS data. two actually since Baidu Maps uses their own on top of the official one, which they claim is a privacy measure (which I don't really buy but it's at least more convincing than Google Maps' privacy policy of "you can trust us :^)")

the. 'china will use electric vehicles to map american roads' thing chud conspiracy theorists are trying to spin is especially funny considering that theyre literally. already mapped. theres already maps of them youve. car satnavs have existed for like 30 years