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Hyundai takes to platooning in Korea test

Xcients go through paces a year after autonomous drive

 

It may have had a slightly tardy start making its mark in the global truck market but Hyundai is making up for any lost time, with platooning the latest concept being tackled.

Fresh from spruiking its Xcient Fuel Cell truck last month, Korea’s huge Hyundai Motor Company says it has successfully conducted the company’s first near-open-road platooning.

The trial used two Xcient semis on the Yeoju Smart Highway, a 7.7km testbed within the central region expressway established by the Korean government for the development of autonomous driving technology.

“The highway is constantly populated by vehicles for autonomous driving research, making it quite similar to the conditions of an actual highway,” the company says.

Technological challenges put to the test included: basic vehicle platooning: cut-in and out by other vehicles: simultaneous emergency braking; vehicle to vehicle (V2V) communications.

The speed limit was set at 60km/h to ensure safety.


Read about the splash made in the US by the Hyundai fuel cell truck, here


“We are confident that our industry leading autonomous driving technology in commercial vehicles showcased in this platooning truck demonstration will lead into a revolutionary paradigm shift in the freight and logistics industry,” Jihan Ryu, head of Hyundai Motor’s Commercial Vehicle Electronics Control Engineering Group, says.

“We will strive to create constructive synergy by sharing our knowhow and experiences of developing autonomous driving technology between commercial vehicle and passenger vehicle sectors to expedite level-5 autonomous driving technology.”

The company emphasises that the demonstration is part of a national project initiated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT). Since 2018, MOLIT” has been working to support pioneering efforts for autonomous technology”. Along with Hyundai, the project involved government, corporations and academia.

The latest test builds on an effort that kicked off a year ago.

In August 2018, Hyundai Motor, in partnership with Hyundai Glovis, completed South Korea’s first domestic highway journey with an autonomously navigated truck.

It went for about 40km on the highway between Uiwang and Incheon and the truck displayed SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers Standard) Level-3 autonomous driving.

 

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