Hyundai Motor Company, Kia and Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance will conduct the first city-wide robotaxi trial in South Korea. The project will begin in Gwangju in May.
The initiative is called the “K-autonomous driving collaboration model.” The goal of the project is to bridge the technological gap between Korea and the United States and China in autonomous transportation technology. To do this, the automaker, insurance and digital platform services will work together.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport said that Hyundai and Kia will develop software-driven vehicles (SDVs) for the trials. Most of the functions of these vehicles will be controlled and updated through software.
Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance will provide insurance. The company will develop a special insurance mechanism for AI-driven vehicles. The plan includes compensation of up to 30 billion won (about 20 million US dollars) per year for possible risks.
The project will be supervised by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority. The trials are planned to last at least two years.
Hyundai will also provide the platform infrastructure and software teams to operate the robotaxi system, with the aim of testing how autonomous transportation works in real-world conditions within the city.
