The International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) bills itself as “The Global Stage for Innovation,” and by pretty much all measurements, the event lives up to the hype, and has done so for decades. From the history-making launch of Atari’s 400 and 800 personal computers at the 1979 show, to the debut of the Chevy Bolt in 2016, big announcements happen at CES, and the world watches with rapt attention.
Self-Driving Cars at CES
2017 marked a watershed moment for technology’s coming together with the automotive industry. Multiple self-driving technology announcements captured headlines, and the trend continues in 2018.
At Udacity, we’re very excited by all the developments, especially as we find ourselves right in the middle of all the action! For example, as just reported by CNBC, NVIDIA (a Udacity partner!) announced they are partnering with Uber, Volkswagen and Baidu on numerous important autonomous vehicle initiatives.
Udacity and Baidu at CES
Baidu represents especially exciting news for Udacity. Sebastian Thrun is in attendance at CES, where he gave a keynote speech at Baidu World. Together with Qi Lu, Baidu Group President and Chief Operating Officer, they highlighted Baidu’s work in the fields of AI and Self-Driving Cars, and the role Udacity can play connecting the US and China in a shared effort to nurture AI and autonomous systems talent, grow knowledge, and bring about positive change.
A New, Free Self-Driving Course for China, Built by Udacity and Baidu
This promising collaboration is already taking shape in the form of a new course being jointly developed by Baidu and Udacity. This free course will teach students how to use Baidu’s Apollo 2.0 software platform to develop autonomous driving systems through on-vehicle and hardware platforms.
“Together with Baidu, we look forward to popularizing the Apollo system, and to giving everyone the opportunity to become a self-driving car engineer.” —Sebastian Thrun
Marching To A Safer Future, Together
The United States and China have to-date been engaged in a parallel march to a safer, more efficient future through the promotion and adoption of AI and Self-Driving Car technologies. Udacity and Baidu strongly believe that by combining forces, we can achieve the goals of this future sooner, by providing world-class opportunities for lifelong learners across the planet to master these cutting-edge technologies, and begin making positive contributions to this transformational field.
