Hyundai Motor Group's IONIQ 5 robotaxi drives in Las Vegas in this undated photo. Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor has been selected as one of three participants in a government-backed autonomous driving initiative in Gwangju, as Korea steps up efforts to commercialize artificial intelligence (AI)-powered mobility.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on Tuesday that it has chosen Hyundai, Autonomous A2Z and RideFlux to develop end-to-end (E2E) AI autonomous driving technology, with a fleet of 200 dedicated vehicles in the city’s designated testbed area.
To support the initiative, the ministry designated Gwangju as Korea’s first city-wide pilot zone for autonomous vehicles, covering 500.97 square kilometers.
The designation allows participating companies to conduct real-world testing of their technologies across the entire metropolitan area with fewer regulatory constraints.
The initiative aligns with the government’s broader plan to establish AI-powered autonomous driving mega zones, backed by comprehensive policy support spanning finance, infrastructure, talent and regulation.
“At last, the country’s leading autonomous driving companies have come together to start the autonomous driving pilot city project,” Minister Kim Yun-duk said. “As minister, I will stake the fate of our ministry to ensure that the pilot city is reborn as a hub leading Korea’s core future strategic industry.”
Hyundai Motor is pursuing a dual-track strategy for the initiative, developing both Level 2+ advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) for consumer vehicles and Level 4 fully autonomous solutions targeting business applications.
The company aims to rapidly advance its Atria AI system, developed by its software unit 42dot, with the goal of deploying it in vehicles sold both domestically and overseas.
Autonomous A2Z brings experience in building driverless shuttle vehicles such as its Roii shuttle bus, and has operated a range of autonomous mobility services, including demand-responsive transport, across 14 local governments in Korea.
Source: Korea Times News
