Baidu unveils AI world model for autonomous vehicle simulation
Baidu has introduced a new AI-driven simulation platform called Apollo World to enhance the training and safety validation of its robotaxi fleet.
Beijing-based technology company Baidu debuted its Apollo World platform at an AI event in Shenzhen this week. The system serves as a digital simulation environment designed to train autonomous vehicles and validate the performance of the company's existing Apollo Go robotaxi service.
The platform operates by modeling pedestrians and other vehicles as individual AI agents. By generating synthetic sensor data, the system allows Baidu to simulate diverse ride-hailing scenarios and evaluate how road users interact with the driving decisions made by autonomous units in virtual urban environments.
As of June 2026, Baidu’s Apollo Go service has completed more than 23 million trips across 28 cities. The move to adopt virtual world models aligns with broader industry practices, as companies like Waymo are also leveraging high-fidelity simulations to address the challenges of scaling autonomous driving technology safely.