Hyundai Mobis Develops a Steering System for Autonomous Driving

Hyundai Mobis has succeeded in developing a state-of-the-art steering system that keeps the steering wheel safe in any situation during autonomous driving. The company plans to mass-produce it in 2020 after testing it by year's end.

Hyundai Mobis announced on July 25 that the company developed a new-concept electric steering system that can maintain normal steering ability with dual control system based on two electronic circuits in autonomous driving. This is a technology that guarantees driver safety and the system based on this new technology has not been mass-produced yet, according to the company.

The normal operation of the steering wheel in an autonomous driving environment in which the car runs on its own without a driver’s operation holds the key to passenger safety. It has been difficult to drive normally due to being unable to take stable control of a steering wheel. Therefore, in the autonomous driving vehicle industry, there has been fierce competition for developing a system that can secure safety even in such a situation.

new technology developed by Hyundai Mobis this time allows a dual system to judge whether or not the car has a problem on its own even if an unexpected error occurs suddenly in the steering system during autonomous driving. By doing that, the dual system automatically controls the steering wheel and the car can autonomously run. Hyundai Mobis developed the system as it is difficult for a driver to intervene immediately if a problem occurs in the steering system as the driver does not keep their eyes forward in autonomous driving.

To do this, Hyundai Mobis designed all of the key electronic components (sensors, ECUs, motors and others) as dual units. Therefore, the company loaded two independent electronic circuits into one steering device and even if one electronic circuit breaks down, the other will work normally, keeping autonomous driving stable.

Hyundai Mobis is currently carrying out tests on the reliability of the system such as actual road tests to improve its technological completeness. The company aims to mass-produce the system in 2020 after completing verification work on the system in a general driving environment such as expressways, downtown areas and parking lots by the end of this year.

The development of this technology is expected to accelerate Hyundai Mobis’s development of an autonomous driving system. The company set a goal to develop all sensors, including those for radars, cameras, and light detection and ranging (LIDAR) systems which are the core technologies for autonomous driving by 2020.