New Advancement
The Genesis G90 and the Kia EV9, which will be released in April at the earliest, will be loaded with the Highway Driving Pilot (HDP) function, a Level 3 autonomous driving technology, Hyundai Motor Group said on March 14.
The new G90 is a new-year model based on the 2021 4th generation full change model and is the first Korea-mass-produced model equipped with Level 3 autonomous driving technology.
The HDP function is a technology that corresponds to Level 3 of the five levels of autonomous driving classified by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). A Level 3 car can run on its own at a speed of up to 80 kph on car-only roads such as highways. Hyundai Motor Group initially tried to release the G90 in the fourth quarter of 2022, but delayed the release to the first half of this year by increasing the speed of HDP application from 60 to 80 kph.
Level 3 autonomous driving is considered the beginning of autonomous driving because it is the first step in which control of a vehicle is transferred from the driver to the autonomous driving system.
Hyundai Motor Group added a LIDAR sensor to the front grill for HDP operation of the 2023 G90. HDP works in connection with LIDAR, rear, side, and front cameras and front and side radar.
Level 3 autonomous driving allows a car to change lanes on its own as it navigates to its destination and allows its driver to take hands off the steering wheel. Drivers can do other things while driving, such as crossing their arms or looking at their phones, during Level 3 autonomous driving.
Officially certified vehicles loaded with Level 3 autonomous driving technology in the global market are the Mercedes-Benz S-Class and electric sedan EQS, and the Honda Legend. Drive Pilot, Mercedes-Benz’s level 3 autonomous driving technology, empowers cars to run at speeds of less than 60 kph.
Mercedes-Benz also installed the Level 4-based unmanned autonomous parking system Intelligent Park Pilot 2 on the New S-Class and the New EQS produced after July of last year. Intelligent Park Pilot enables a vehicle to navigate to an empty space at low speed and park itself after the driver gets out of the car. The only thing that the driver has to do is activate the function with the Mercedes Me App to order for the car to park on its own.
The Honda Legend obtained a Level 3 certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, and Tourism of Japan in 2020. Honda has been selling the Legend loaded with Level 3 self-driving technology since March 2021.