World Car news #Update
Three of Hyundai’s next generation fuel cell electric vehicles have succeeded in completing a self-driven 118 mile journey from Seoul to Pyongyang in Korea, marking the first time that level 4 autonomous driving will be achieved with fuel cell electric vehicles.
Fuel cell vehicles use hydrogen gas to power an electric motor. Unlike conventional vehicles which run on gasoline or diesel, fuel cell cars and trucks combine hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, which runs a motor.
Until now, autonomous driving has only been allowed on selected sections of Korean domestic roads and at a limited speed. This is the first time that autonomous driving is being allowed on public roads and at 110km/h which is the maximum speed allowed by law on Korean highways.
The vehicles which are all based on the Nexo and are scheduled to be released in Korea next month are fitted with standard level 4 autonomous technologies as stipulated by the SAE international standards. Advanced technologies the cars are equipped with also include: an enablement to recognize surrounding vehicles, ability to navigate through toll gates accurately calculating the gate’s width and position, external sensors fitted to pinpoint the car’s positions on maps, assistant chat technology, wellness care system which monitors the health information of passengers, ‘Noise away’ cabin noise reduction amongst many others.
With the completion of the testing, Hyundai Motor Group is preparing for the commercialization of the standard Level 4 compliant autonomous-driving system in smart cities by 2021.
The company also announced its plans at Consumer Electronic Show 2018 last month to jointly develop self- driving technology with Aurora Innovation; a U.S. based autonomous driving start-up, where it plans to commercialize the technology for fully autonomous driving by 2030.