A day in the life of a Chinese robotaxi driver

An evolving technology that gets rid of a driver most of the time, and in controlled environments, but not good enough to convince authorities that they can do away with human intervention altogether, is the reason for the existence of the safety operator. Self-driving companies from the US, Europe, and China are competing to bring the technology to market. Apollo, the self-driving arm of Baidu, has begun on-demandrobotaxi trials on public roads, but still needs to operate with various constraints.

He acted as the driver for his boss in a previous role, even though he has no academic training related to this job. He was curious when he heard about the self-driving technologies. Today, with his buzzcut, warm smile, and distinctive Beijing accent, Liu "drives" arobotaxi five days a week in Shougang Park, a 3.3- square-mile former power plant in Beijing that has been redeveloped into a tourist attraction after serving as a sports venue for The park where his car can't leave is a trial area for robotaxis so his passengers are usually employees who work there.

His job will probably be eliminated within a few years, so he needs to think about his next steps. He has been working as a safety operator for 19 months and has been through a lot. After getting the license to put the safety operator in the front passenger seat, the steering wheel was taken away from him. The steering wheel can be removed, which is expected to be in operation in three years.

The MIT Technology Review talked to a man. He told us how he got this job, what his daily life is like, and what his future holds.

The interview has been edited to make it clearer.

MIT Technology Review (TR): How did you decide to become a safety operator for a self-driving taxi?

There was a coincidence. I didn't know what self-driving was when I was parking the car for an old boss. I was interested in everything. When we first tried it, it was fascinating. I was interested in knowing more after that.

TR: How long have you been driving?

Fourteen, thirteen years.

TR: Did you remember what the interview process was like?

When I was going for the interview, I was very nervous. We had a road test and a face to face interview. The road test foroperators is more difficult than the road test for drivers license. When you are learning how to drive, you need to look at your left, right, and the mirror, but when we are taking the test, you need to pay attention to all the directions, as well as what every car in front of or behind you is doing It might change lanes and hit you.