Hyundai Motor To Trial Autonomous RoboShuttle Service

JAKARTA - Hyundai Motor Company announced that it will start test operation of its RoboShuttle service (derived from 'Robot' and 'Shuttle'), equipped with automatic steering and artificial intelligence on a 6.1-kilometer route in Sejong Smart City, South Korea.

Pilot operations will be carried out using the Hyundai H350, a light commercial four-door van (known as Solati in Korea, Malaysia and Vietnam), equipped with Level 4 equivalent core technology and developed in-house by the Autonomous Driving Center at Hyundai Motor.

The vehicle has also obtained a Level 3 autonomous driver temporary operating license from South Korea's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

Based on self-driving capabilities, the vehicle is designed to see its surroundings, make decisions and control itself while driving on the road, requiring minimal intervention from the driver.

The vehicle will operate on a 6.1 km route from Sejong Government Complex to Sejong National Arboretum, with 20 stops for passengers along the way.

Ahead of the test launch, the company signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Sejong City Transportation Company on July 12 to facilitate the smooth operation of the pilot program.

The program will also collaborate with Shucle (derived from 'Shuttle' and 'Circle'), a demand responsive mobility service running in Sejong City, launched by AIRS Company, a dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) research laboratory under the Hyundai Motor Group.

Shucle is the first ride-pooling service launched in South Korea, offering a shared mobility solution to passengers on similar routes by using an algorithm to determine the optimal route based on demand. This service is expected to make public transportation more efficient, because the vehicle will only stop at the pick-up and drop-off points that have been selected by passengers through the application.

The RoboShuttle service will link the company's autonomous driving technology with AirS Company's AI mobility technology. When a RoboShuttle is requested by a passenger via the Shucle app, the self-driving shuttle will go to the pick-up point by calculating the best path using an AI algorithm.

Starting in July, Hyundai Motor will recruit passengers who want to experience RoboShuttle services in Sejong City through the Shucle application. Starting with a pilot service in Sejong City, the service will be gradually expanded to other areas.

Hyundai Motor also plans to introduce its RoboShuttle service to the Hyundai Motor and Kia Namyang Research and Development Centers in the second half of this year, providing its researchers with a shuttle service with autonomous driving.