(Yicai Global) Dec. 6 -- Intelligent vehicles are not the only goal of autonomous driving as they are just one of four key parts in the larger picture of intelligent transportation and smart cities which comprises human beings, cars, roads and the environment, according to a book by the co-founder and chief executive officer of Chinese internet giant Baidu.

Beijing-based Baidu has shifted from autonomous driving to vehicle-to-everything, intelligent transportation and digital operations, Robin Li says in his book ‘Intelligent Transportation: Significant Transformation over 10-40 Years Influencing the Future of Humanity.’

The intelligent transportation operator model will make the roads safer, Li said. Self-driving autos are safer than cars driven by humans and should reduce traffic accidents by 90 percent, he said. Fewer accidents mean less economic losses.

By collecting and processing real-time data, V2X will enable automatic safety functions in vehicles and the collaborative management of roads, Li said. It is a necessary path to massive application of smart driving based on the development of single-vehicle intelligence. Baidu’s V2X technology is powered by the Baidu AI Cloud, which grew 73 percent year on year in the third quarter.

The intelligent transportation operator model will usher in ground-breaking innovation with far-reaching impact on transportation, cities, the economy and society, Li said. In the short term, every city will have one or more smart transportation operators, but in the medium to long-term development, there could be two or three national intelligent transportation operators.

Intelligent transportation operators will become leaders in smart infrastructure construction, unmanned driving services and technology innovation, he added.

Editor: Kim Taylor