Hyundai Motor Group will pilot a future rideshare service in Seoul’s famous Gangnam District, using two modified Ioniq 5s with “in-house developed Level 4 autonomous driving technology” and a backup safety driver.
The ‘RoboRide’ is said to be the first car-healing service with pilots to drive pilots in the district – one of the most densely populated areas on the planet. Hyundai claims that it has been collecting data from autonomous test vehicles in the region since 2019.
The carmaker will work with a Korean artificial intelligence-powered car-healing startup called Gene Mobility and wants to expand the pilot Ioniq 5 fleet in a timely manner.
Hyundai hopes the pilot will create more “valuable autonomous driving data” to help improve driverless technology for the highly complex megacity environment.
The company has received a temporary autonomous driving operation permit from the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. It has worked with the Seoul metropolitan government on a system that can connect traffic signals to vehicles (known as V2I, or vehicle-to-vehicle infrastructure).
Hyundai adds that it will provide an in-house remote vehicle support system to better protect passengers. The system monitors autonomous driving conditions, vehicles and routes and supports trips with remote assistance functions such as changing lanes “in situations where autonomous driving is not possible”.
“Based on Level 4 autonomous driving technology, a RoboRide vehicle will realize, decide and control its own driving status, while its safety driver will only intervene in limited circumstances,” Hyundai added.
The Roboride Pilot service will run outside of the traditional peak hours, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A ride can have a maximum of three passengers.
Hyundai said it plans to conduct an initial showcase service for internally selected staff, then expand the pilot service to general customers “in the future”. South Korea’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transportation On Hee-ryung; And Seoul City Mayor Oh Se-Hun was the first customer to test a robotic car.
At Hyundai Motor Group, we are developing Level 4 autonomous driving technology based on an internally advanced driving support system, the effectiveness and safety of which is verified through mass production and successful commercial launches, ”said Wongjun, head of Hyundai Motor Group Autonomous Driving Center. Rust
“We hope this RoboRide pilot service will be an important inflection point that will enable us to internalize our autonomous driving technology.”