Hyundai’s Ioniq 5 Robotic Taxi Passes Driving Test and Receives License in the US: Boosting Future of Autonomous Transport Technology

In recent years, car manufacturers have faced all kinds of leagues that have slowed down the development of technology. The pandemic, geopolitical crisis, economic downturn and supply chain disruptions have left the entire industry struggling with seemingly endless disruption.

However, the dream of self-driving cars has not been forgotten, and now the improved technology is quietly showing what it can do.

Hyundai has announced that they have built a robotic taxi based on the Ioniq 5 and that it has been very successful in the United States. As unusual as it is, the robot has passed the driving test and received a driver’s license. Therefore, it has clearly shown what progress the South Korean company has achieved in the development of autonomous transport and artificial intelligence.

First, the robot taxi Ioniq 5 successfully passed the simulation part of the test, and then it successfully coped with tests on public roads, including heavy traffic in Las Vegas. As the manufacturer emphasizes, this success greatly increases hope for future development.

Other companies are rushing to achieve similar goals. Volkswagen recently revealed plans to test the ID.Buzz autonomous taxi. This German electric car transports passengers in Hamburg and is watched by a human. Tesla has also announced a similar plan.

Such enthusiasm makes one wonder – when will robot trucks start transporting people on the streets of Latvian cities?

Safety and other important factors

Leaving aside the ability of self-driving vehicles to go from point A to point B on their own, there are other important aspects to this issue. For example, safety – robot cars driven by artificial intelligence can be significantly safer than vehicles driven by humans.

But in this case we are talking about software. The technical equipment is probably the biggest obstacle to the widespread use of autonomous cars, especially in our country. It’s not for nothing that self-driving car tests are mostly done in California, but the Hyundai Ioniq 5 was tested in nearby Las Vegas.

Another aspect is the weather. “Perhaps the biggest obstacle to the widespread use of self-driving cars, especially in our region, is the weather. Rain, fog, snow and dust make this process more difficult for a person in such conditions it is more difficult to drive, but our vision and other senses also change.

“Hyundai has been touting the Ioniq 5’s emergency braking system in the media. Demonstrations have shown that it works extremely well, dealing with, for example, a pedestrian suddenly running into the road, as well as a vehicle that unexpectedly leaves the scene blind further development of autonomous technologies, the most complete technologies we can get, the drivers,” says Kārlis.

This aspect was also emphasized by the South Korean manufacturer after a series of tests. And this is not surprising, since some of the technologies that form the basis of autonomous driving are used by drivers in existing cars. Video cameras, radars and other sensors installed in them enable the adaptive cruise control system, lane keeping function or emergency braking technology to avoid an accident.

Automakers continue to improve these systems regularly, so innovations can be seen in almost every model of the new generation. For example, in the previously mentioned Ioniq 5 electric car, the adaptive cruise control system can automatically brake the vehicle to a complete stop and make it drive again if the vehicles have front also doing so in traffic.

By the way, this is Hyundai’s first model that introduced the second-level autonomous driving technology – it allows not only to control the driving speed and the distance to other vehicles on the highway , but also to change paths.

Eliminates mobility problems

Developing self-driving cars isn’t just a desire to show what future transportation might look like or what safety solutions someone might have. Hundreds of thousands of disabled people around the world experience mobility problems every day, but they have the same right to mobility as anyone else. Therefore, a robot car, which does not require human involvement, would greatly help to solve a wide range of problems.

The experimental model is an example of a wide range of advanced mobility technologies integrated in one car. It was created in close collaboration between Hyundai Motor Group and autonomous driving technology developer Motional. Together, the companies have been developing advanced vehicle platforms and autonomous driving technologies for years, conducting numerous tests in challenging conditions.

K. Mendziņš is sure that before self-driving cars become common in Latvia, a lot of water will have flowed under the bridge: “However, we constantly feel that each new car will become smarter and protect us more .”

And it’s not just a theory – soon in the European Union (EU) and therefore also in Latvia, the installation of autonomous driving systems will be an integral part of new cars. And some of them are already required – from 6 July 2022, all new mass-produced cars sold on the EU market must have the AEBS (Advanced Emergency Braking System) emergency braking system, which recognizes the car in front.

An even more modern emergency braking system, which also recognizes pedestrians and cyclists, will be mandatory in all new cars sold in the EU from July 7 this year. However, those car makers who are rapidly developing autonomous technologies have been anticipating this.

This system is already used in electric cars Hyundai Ioniq 5 or Ioniq 6. It monitors the road ahead with radar and video camera and can stop the car autonomously if a vehicle, cyclist or pedestrian suddenly appears in front. On the other hand, in the Hyundai Tucson SUV, this system has an advanced function that helps avoid a frontal collision at an intersection when turning left.

“I myself would like to replace the driver with a robot right now, because I don’t like daily driving. However, I am sure that self-driving cars will not become everyday life in Latvia so soon. Let’s see, but the possibility of robots driving to us is not denied, but one thing is already clear – we will always feel that each new car becomes smarter and protects us better and better,” summarizes Kārlis Mendziņš.