Hello unveils first purpose-built Robotaxi 'HR1'

Beijing (Gasgoo)- On Sept. 11, Hello Inc. ("Hello"), a Chinese mobility services company backed by Alibaba, announced its Robotaxi strategy and debuted its first purpose-built mass-production model, the HR1 (Hello Robot 1). According to its plan, Hello aims to deploy more than 50,000 Robotaxi units by 2027.

At the event, Hello signed strategic cooperation agreements with partners including Venucia, Alibaba Cloud, Horizon Robotics, and Hesai Technology to advance R&D, vehicle manufacturing, and commercialization of its Robotaxis.

Unlike traditional modular Robotaxi architectures, Hello's system adopts an end-to-end design, mapping multi-sensor inputs directly to vehicle control commands. This approach, powered by a diffusion model combined with expert priors, significantly improves system response speed and decision consistency while supporting instruction-based driving in complex traffic scenarios.

The HR1 is equipped with a comprehensive sensor suite: four mid-to-long-range radars, four blind-spot radars, six millimeter-wave radars, 12 ultrasonic radars, and multiple cameras for 360-degree coverage. Additional safety features include elastic wave sensors for structural monitoring and in-cabin OMS cameras for passenger behavior detection. The computing unit integrates dual automotive-grade controllers with combined processing power exceeding 2,200 TOPS, while redundant inertial navigation and dual power supplies ensure stable positioning and safe operation. A dual-SIM 5G TBOX provides high-reliability cloud connectivity.

Hello has already launched pilot operations in Zhuzhou, Hunan Province, and plans to roll out SOP mass production in 2026, expanding to more than 10 cities with international pilot projects to follow, targeting a fleet size of 10,000 units.. The company targets global-scale deployment of 50,000 Robotaxis by 2027.