Lotus Robotics, CaoCao Mobility pilots self-driving taxis in China

MANILA: Lotus Robotics — the autonomous driving technology unit of Lotus Cars — has  teamed up with CaoCao Mobility to launch a self-driving platform for robotaxis in China.  

Both companies have successfully completed a pilot program wherein a fully customized car equipped with the said autonomous driving technology covered a total of 13,545 kilometers in test areas without human intervention. 

Per the British car marque, the feat proves the real-world safety and reliability of Lotus Robotics software and services. 

“Today’s news marks a major milestone for Lotus Robotics’ growth, as the company continues to scale globally, and deliver a full stack of autonomous software and services for businesses wanting to deploy self-driving technology in their operations safely, securely and efficiently,” the United Kingdom-based carmaker said in a press release. 

Lotus Robotics and CaoCao Mobility — Geely Holding’s strategic ride-hailing arm — will continue to operate across China. 

Lotus Robotics offerings 

Lotus Robotics offers a range of autonomous software and services for businesses wanting to implement and deploy self-driving technology in their operations safely. 

Below the company’s offerings: 

Robo Soul

Per Lotus Robotics, Robo Soul is a full self-driving software stack that “can be integrated into any vehicle, in any environment.” 

Here are some of the tasks that can be performed by Robo Soul: 

• Parking
• Highway driving

Components of Robo Soul are currently used by Lotus’ next-generation nameplates, which we have listed here: 

• Lotus Eletre
• Lotus Emeya 

Robo Galaxy 

Robo Galaxy, on the other hand, is a range of cloud-based tools that underpins Robo Soul. These programs enable businesses to manage and analyze data in order to increase efficiency and accessibility of autonomous fleets. 

Per Lotus, Robo Galaxy collects data from multiple sources, which can be found below: 

• Sensors
• Road information 
• Algorithms 

Robo Matrix 

As for Robo Matrix, it is able to use real-time monitoring for improved safety, which includes guidance, control, and parallel driving solutions. 

Robo Matrix analyzes real-time data and also uses artificial intelligence to continually learn from its environment and improve the safety and accuracy of its autonomous capabilities. 

Navigate on Autopilot

One of Lotus Robotics’ latest innovations is Navigate on Autopilot. 

The said technology allows navigation without relying on maps — which according to Lotus delivers seamless transitions between highways and urban roads, smart lane changes, intersection U-turns, and detouring. 

Lotus noted that the said innovation is currently used in China today and will soon roll out to the global market in the fourth quarter of 2025. 

Lotus Robotics partners 

Aside from CaoCao Mobility, Lotus Robotics also works with other brands such as Lynk & Co as well as Fazion Auto. 

To scale its offering Lotus Robotics tapped into Amazon Web Services (AWS). There, it stores and analyzes the data collected across its product portfolio on AWS, and adheres to all regulations in each market it operates in. 

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