Hyundai Motor and Kia are accelerating their efforts to advance Level 4 autonomous driving technology through demonstration projects.
Hyundai and Kia are expanding the RoboRide, an autonomous vehicle ride-hailing pilot service currently operating in Gangnam, Seoul, in collaboration with Kakao Mobility.
This pilot service represents the first autonomous driving demonstration project jointly launched by Hyundai and Kia with Kakao Mobility.
Hyundai and Kia will introduce additional vehicles to the RoboRide service operating in Gangnam, and will present a service linked to Kakao Mobility’s KakaoT platform.
This initiative aims to further capture autonomous driving data within urban areas and validate the platform for future stable autonomous driving service provision.
Initially, Hyundai and Kia will operate the RoboRide service for a group of selected employees to promote the advancement of autonomous driving technology. Chosen employees will be able to request RoboRide vehicles through the KakaoT app for their usage.
Moreover, Hyundai and Kia plan to eventually expand the service to the general public and gradually increase the service area to include locations such as Dosan-daero and Apgujeong-ro in Gangnam.
Jang Woong-jun, Executive Director of Hyundai and Kia’s autonomous driving division, expressed, “We are very hopeful to launch our first autonomous driving pilot project in collaboration with Kakao Mobility. We will continue our efforts to ensure that customers can experience safer and more convenient autonomous driving technologies across various platforms in the future.”
Jang Seong-wook, Vice President of Kakao Mobility’s Future Mobility Research Institute, stated, “Gangnam is considered one of the most advanced urban environments globally, and through our collaboration with Hyundai and Kia, we should be able to accelerate the development of urban autonomous driving technology. We will strive to ensure that the platform technology accumulated by Kakao Mobility contributes to the commercialization of autonomous driving services.”
Lee Sang-jin daedusj@autodiary.kr