- Hyundai starts driverless ride hailing service in Gangnam of Seoul, S. Korea
- The cards still feature one safety driver just in case to avert any incident in case
Elite car maker Hyundai has started driverless ride hailing service in South Korea. Last year, the company demonstrated the Ioniq 5 capable of Level 4 self-driving. Now, the riderless car is serving in Seoul, the capital city of South Korea.
The service was inaugurated recently. The autonomous car first served the mayor and another official as its first RoboRide passengers. The duo traveled along a route in the Gangnam district. For now, it is also the only place where the service is available.
But it is not an entirely driverless ride-hailing service though. In places in the US, companies have begun complete unmanned ride-hailing services. But Hyundai’s RoboRide still features a safety driver to avert any scenario. Check out: Baidu Rolls out Self-Driving Cars in Shenzhen
So far the carmaker hasn’t mentioned when it will fully go autonomous.
Hyundai says up to three passengers will be allowed to enjoy the driverless ride. The first customers will be the company’s own employees.
Enjoying a RoboRide in the semi-autonomous Ioniq 5 is available through the app iM. It functions much like those from Waymo or Cruise. The car relies on artificial intelligence from startup Jin Mobility. It is the company behind iM platform.
Also read: Tata Nexon EV Price in Nepal | Specifications & Availability
“internalize autonomous driving technology …”
Woongjun Jang Senior Vice President and Head of the Autonomous Driving Center, Hyundai Motor Group. He said, “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.”
Many companies have begun offering services in autonomous cars. But Hyundai says its merit lies in that it is using all the available systems in a way that it becomes able to integrate them into the production vehicle.
Where South Korea is offering the service, it has 25 districts. However, only one district has been allowed to offer the ride-hailing service. This is because the car maker has to sit for a broad range of talks with the authority in the local government. It needs the authority to set up traffic lights in areas smart and people may also want to communicate with the self-driving vehicles.
The idea of driverless cards dawned on the company in 2019. Since then, the company has tested autonomous tech in Gangnam. But the finding has been called copious data.
After EVs, next in the auto evolution could be driver-less cars.
EV trend is growing, Even in Nepal, it has caught the fascination of a lot of people. CG Motors have recently ventured with the launch of Neta V. Meanwhile, the government has softened tax on low-tier EVs. But many still are skeptical about EVs’ efficiency compared to fuel-run vehicles. What would make electric vehicles more attractive? Do leave your opinion in the comments below.
