HYUNDAI

Brand will test the autonomous transport service RoboRide

Hyundai announced that it will test the RoboRide car transport service in Gangnam, Seoul (South Korea), using IONIQ 5 battery electric vehicles.

The pilot RoboRide will be the first self-driving car transport service to operate in Gangnam, one of the most congested areas in the Seoul metropolitan area.

For the pilot service, the Group obtained a temporary autonomous driving operation permit from the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT). It will collaborate with Jin Mobility, a Korean company that manages the AI-powered car rental mobility platform 'i.M.'. Jin Mobility will be tasked with operating the two IONIQ 5 RoboRide units on its i.M. The Group also plans to expand the pilot service, while continuing to develop autonomous driving technology, taking into account different conditions, such as driving stability.

“At Hyundai Motor Group, we are developing a Level 4 autonomous driving technology based on the in-house developed Advanced Driving Assistance System (ADAS), whose operation and safety are verified through mass production and a successful commercial launch. We hope that this pilot RoboRide service will be an important inflection point that allows us to internalize autonomous driving technology,” said Woongjun Jang - Senior VP and Head of Autonomous Driving Center at Hyundai Motor Group.

“We have strengthened our capabilities by working on research and development with relevant institutions. From the RoboRide pilot service in collaboration with Hyundai Motor Group, we look forward to leading the mobility landscape of the future. We will put all our efforts into creating synergies through this pilot service”, informs Lee Seong-wook - General Director of Jin Mobility.

Through this pilot service, the Group hopes to collect valuable autonomous driving data and plans to continue developing Level 4 autonomous driving technology to navigate safely and flexibly in challenging urban environments.

To prepare for such a complicated driving environment, the Group also worked with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to establish a system that can link road signs with autonomous vehicles. A lot of driving data has also been collected since 2019, testing autonomous driving in the Gangnam zone.

In addition, the Group will provide an in-house developed remote vehicle assistance system to ensure safety. The system monitors the status of autonomous driving, the vehicle and the route, and supports the journey with remote assistance functions such as changing lanes in circumstances where autonomous driving is not feasible. Based on Level 4 autonomous driving technology, a RoboRide vehicle will detect, make decisions and control its own driving state, while its safety driver will only intervene under limited conditions.

The RoboRide pilot service will operate from 10 am to 4 pm, Monday to Friday, to minimize possible inconvenience on the road. Up to three passengers will be able to travel, while a safety driver will be in the vehicle to respond to any emergency. The Group plans to operate an initial demonstration service for internally selected personnel, and then extend the pilot service objectives to customers in general in the future.

To celebrate the pilot service, Won Hee-ryong, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of South Korea, and Oh Se-hoon, Mayor of Seoul City, were the first customers to test drive the RoboRide vehicle.

Autonews