Hyundai unveils driverless shuttle at Korean National Assembly

Hyundai Motor Co. has launched a pilot service of the RoboShuttle, a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving technology, at the South Korean National Assembly.

Hyundai Motor and the National Assembly Secretariat held a commemorative test ride event for the driverless RoboShuttle on Wednesday at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul.

Both parties have been conducting road environment improvement and pilot operations for autonomous driving within the National Assembly grounds and visitor parking areas since signing a memorandum of understanding for introducing self-driving shuttle buses to the National Assembly in November last year.

The RoboShuttle operated at the National Assembly is based on Hyundai Motor's Solati platform and has a seating capacity of 10 passengers. Two shuttles operate on a 3.1 km interval connecting the National Assembly grounds and the visitor parking area from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays, operating in a loop continuously. National Assembly employees and visitors can use the service free of charge.

The RoboShuttle incorporates Hyundai's proprietary Level 4 autonomous driving technology. Level 4 autonomous driving enables the vehicle to perceive, assess, and control driving situations without driver intervention, except for certain exceptional circumstances.

In addition, the self-driving integrated mobility platform "TAP!" developed by Hyundai Group's global software center, 42dot, is applied to the RoboShuttle. It offers user-customized services, such as providing real-time vehicle location and estimated arrival time guidance when passengers enter their pick-up and drop-off locations through an app.

Write to Nan-Sae Bin at binthere@hankyung.com