Hyundai is taking steps towards future transport mobility as it rolls out its self-driving taxis in the streets of Gangnam, South Korea. Dubbed as RoboRide, the Korean automaker used two Ioniq 5 battery electric vehicles (BEV) equipped with Level 4 autonomous driving technology.
The RoboRide is said to be the first car-hailing service with autonomous driving vehicles to operate in Gangnam, which is a place regarded to have one of the most congested areas in Seoul. Hyundai was able to roll out its self-driving taxis after obtaining a temporary autonomous driving operation permit from Korea’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT).
For the pilot launch, Hyundai will be working alongside Jin Mobility, a Korean startup that specializes in artificial intelligence (AI) tech. Hyundai will be using Jin Mobility’s AI-powered car-hailing mobility platform called ‘i.M.’.
Jin Mobility’s i.M will work in conjunction with Hyundai’s in-house developed Level 4 autonomous driving tech. In case you’re wondering, Level 4 autonomous driving means that the car can operate on its own. Although, a human driver can still override the controls in case it wants to take over the driving duties.
“At Hyundai Motor Group, we are developing level 4 autonomous driving technology based on the internally developed Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS), whose functionality and safety are verified through mass production and successful commercial launch,” said Hyundai Motor Group Senior Vice President and Head of the Autonomous Driving Center Woongjun Jang.
Hyundai shared that Jin Mobility will take the lead in operating the two Ioniq 5 RoboRide self-driving taxis through the i.M. application. The automaker added that it plans to expand the RoboRide pilot service, while further developing autonomous driving technology. The RoboRide program will also allow Hyundai to collect autonomous driving data to further improve its Level 4 autonomous driving tech.
While the Ioniq 5 RoboRide units are integrated with advanced tech, Hyundai still opted to have a safety driver onboard the vehicles. The car brand said that the safety driver will only intervene under limited conditions.
Meanwhile, self-driving taxis are also gaining traction in China. Baidu and Pony.ai have been given the clearance to use public roads for their robotaxi units. On other hand, American company Tesla plans to mass-produce its self-driving robotaxi by 2024.
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