Hyundai Motor plans to operate an initial demonstration service for internally selected personnel
Hyundai Motor Group announced it will pilot a RoboRide car-hailing service in Gangnam district, in Seoul, South Korea, utilizing IONIQ five battery electric vehicles (BEV) with in-house developed level 4 autonomous driving technology.
The Korean car maker claimed that the pilot RoboRide will be the first car-hailing service with autonomous driving vehicles to operate in Gangnam, one of the most congested areas in metropolitan Seoul.
For the pilot service, the company said it has obtained a temporary autonomous driving operation permit from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of Korea. It will collaborate with Jin Mobility, a Korean startup operating the artificial intelligence (AI)-powered car-hailing mobility platform ‘i.M.’. Jin Mobility will be in charge of operating the two IONIQ 5 RoboRide units on its i.M application. Hyundai also plans to expand the pilot service, while further developing autonomous driving technology with consideration for various conditions, such as driving stability.
“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. We expect this RoboRide pilot service will be an important inflection point that will enable us to internalize autonomous driving technology,” said Woongjun Jang, SVP and head of the Autonomous Driving Center of Hyundai Motor Group.
“We have been strengthening our capabilities by working on research and development with relevant institutions. Starting with the RoboRide pilot service in collaboration with Hyundai Motor Group, we look forward to leading the future mobility scene. We will put our utmost effort into creating synergies through this pilot service,” said Lee Seong-wook, CEO of Jin Mobility.
Through this pilot, the company said it aims to collect valuable autonomous driving data and plans to further develop the level 4 autonomous driving technology.
The company has also worked with Seoul Metropolitan Government to establish a system that can connect traffic signals with autonomous vehicles. It has also gathered copious driving data since 2019 by testing autonomous driving in Gangnam area.
RoboRide will operate outside of peak hours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, and will carry up to three passengers. As well as the human operators, the service will use an in-house-developed remote vehicle assist system to ensure safety. This monitors the autonomous driving status, vehicle and route, and offers support with remote assist functions, such as changing the lane under circumstances where autonomous driving is not feasible.
The company plans to operate an initial demonstration service for internally selected personnel, and then expand the pilot service targets to general customers in the future.
