Long Distance Level-4 Self-driving
Hyundai Motor Company announced on February 4 that its five self-driving cars, including the hydrogen-powered Nexo SUV and the Genesis G80, succeeded in carrying out autonomous driving on February 2 in a 190 km-long highway section between Seoul and Pyeongchang. The company added that the Nexo has become the world’s first hydrogen-powered electric vehicle that realized autonomous driving.
In South Korea, this type of driving in highway sections has been demonstrated on several occasions at limited speeds. However, the five cars extended the distance to as long as 190 km and raised the maximum speed to 110 km per hour for the first time.
The autonomous driving technology demonstrated at this time falls into the category of Level 4 according to the U.S. Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE). Hyundai Motor Company said that it would commercialize its Level 5 technology by 2030.
The five vehicles incorporated 5G mobile network technology as well. Specifically, the technology was divided into Car-to-Home for touch-based home control in the vehicles, Assistant Chat as intelligent voice chat technology, and Wellness Care for measuring the stress levels of drivers and refreshing them. Hyundai Motor Company is planning to provide the general public with the vehicles in Pyeongchang during the upcoming Olympics and Paralympics period so that people can experience the self-driving cars.