√Hyundai runs autonomous car pilot study with Ioniq 5

Hyundai is honing its autonomous driving system by providing an Ioniq 5 RoboRide car-hailing service around Gangnam in South Korea.

Hyundai is applying its own in-house autonomous driving technology to a new RoboRide rideshare service, which will see two Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric vehicles deployed around Seoul in South Korea.

The battery-electric Ioniq 5 is equipped with Hyundai’s Level 4 autonomous driving software, which will guide the taxis through Gangnam, one of the most congested areas in metropolitan Seoul.

Users of the car-hailing service will be able to call up one of the autonomous vehicles using a third-party application called i.M. The application was developed by Korean start-up Jin Mobility, which will be operating the two autonomous Hyundais on the application.

The RoboRide service will run between 10am and 4pm from Monday to Friday, to keep the cars out of peak traffic times and to minimise inconvenience to other motorists. Up to three passengers can ride inside the Ioniq 5, though only Hyundai employees will be invited initially. Hyundai says the pilot will open up to offer rides to the general public in the future.

“At Hyundai Motor Group, we are developing level 4 autonomous driving technology based on the internally-developed Advanced Driving Support System (ADAS), whose functionality and safety are verified through mass production and successful commercial launch,” said Woongjung Jang, senior vice president and head of Hyundai’s Autonomous Driving Centre.

Hyundai worked with the Seoul Metropolitan government to create its autonomous car network, which connects with traffic signals and infrastructure.

Based on Level 4 autonomous driving technology, the Ioniq 5’s software should be able to perceive the world around it, make decisions, and control its own driving status.

There is a remote vehicle assistance system which can interrupt the drive to ensure safety in the circumstance that autonomous driving is not possible.

As a final fail-safe, a safety driver sits within the vehicle as a back-up to respond in emergencies.

As determined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), Level 4 autonomous driving refers to a vehicle that can drive itself within specific geographic boundaries. It does not need a driver to operate or intervene as the system is programmed to stop itself in the event of system failure.

Through this new pilot program Hyundai hopes to collect valuable autonomous driving data which it will use to further develop the technology.

The post Hyundai runs autonomous car pilot study with Ioniq 5 appeared first on Drive.