Publicity photo
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 adversity. However, the dream of self-driving cars has not been forgotten, and now the improved technology is quietly demonstrating what it can do.
Hyundai has announced that it has built a robotic taxi based on the Ioniq 5 and that it has been a resounding success in the United States. As unusual as it sounds, the robot has passed the driving test and obtained a driver’s license. Thus, it has clearly demonstrated what progress the South Korean company has achieved in the development of autonomous transport and artificial intelligence.
First, the Ioniq 5 robot taxi successfully passed the simulation part of the exam, and then it also successfully coped with tests on public roads, including heavy traffic in Las Vegas. As the manufacturer emphasizes, this success significantly increases optimism regarding future development.
Other companies are in a hurry to achieve similar goals. Volkswagen recently revealed plans to test the electric ID.Buzz autonomous taxi. This German electric car will transport passengers in Hamburg and will be monitored by a human. Tesla has also announced a similar plan.
Such enthusiasm creates intrigue – 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 get from point A to point B on their own, there are other important aspects to this case. For example, safety – robot cars driven by artificial intelligence can become significantly safer than vehicles driven by humans. But in this case, it’s about software. Perhaps the biggest obstacle to the widespread use of autonomous cars, especially in our country, is technical equipment. It is not for nothing that tests of self-driving cars are mainly carried out in California, but the Hyundai Ioniq 5 test was carried out 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 precisely the weather. In order for the sensors to successfully analyze the surrounding environment and correctly assess the situation, the weather is essential, as rain, fog, snow and dust make this process difficult.
It is also more difficult for a person to drive in such conditions, but our vision and other senses adapt to it. But it’s probably only a matter of time before technology learns, too. Perhaps the necessary solutions have already been found, it remains only to wait for them to reach the streets,” explains Kārlis Mendziņš, head of “Eleport Latvija”.
Hyundai boasts the Ioniq 5’s emergency braking system in the media. Demonstrations have shown that it works extremely well, reacting, for example, to a pedestrian suddenly running into the road, as well as to a vehicle unexpectedly leaving the blind spot. The further autonomous technologies develop, the more complete technologies we, the drivers, receive,” says Kārlis Mendziņš.
This aspect was also emphasized by the South Korean manufacturer after a series of tests. And this is not surprising, because some of the technologies that form the basis of autonomous driving are already 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 a collision.
Automakers continue to consistently improve these systems, so innovations can be seen in almost every model of the new generation. For example, in the aforementioned Ioniq 5 electric car, the adaptive cruise control system can autonomously brake the vehicle to a complete stop and make it resume driving if the vehicles in front are also doing so in traffic.
By the way, this is the first Hyundai model to introduce the so-called second-level autonomous driving technology – it allows not only to control the driving speed and distance to other vehicles on the highway, but also to help change lanes.
Eliminates mobility problems
The development of self-driving cars is not just a desire to demonstrate what future transport will be capable of or what safety solutions someone can come up with. Hundreds of thousands of disabled people around the world experience mobility difficulties every day, but they have the same right to move as anyone else. Therefore, a robot car that does not require human involvement in driving would really help to solve a wide range of problems.
The experimental model is an example of a wide range of advanced mobility technologies integrated into one car. It was created in close cooperation between Hyundai Motor Group and the autonomous driving technology developer Motional. Together, the companies have been perfecting advanced vehicle platforms and autonomous driving technologies for years, conducting numerous tests in challenging conditions.
Mendziņš is sure that before self-driving cars become commonplace in Latvia, a lot of water will have flowed under the bridge: “However, we will consistently feel that each new car becomes smarter and protects us more.”
And it’s not just a theory – in the near future in the European Union (EU) and therefore also in Latvia, it will be mandatory to install autonomous driving systems in new cars. And some of them are already necessary – from July 6, 2022, all new mass-produced cars sold on the EU market must have the AEBS (“Advanced Emergency Braking System”), which recognizes the car in front.
An even more advanced emergency braking system, which also recognizes pedestrians and cyclists, will be mandatory in every new car sold in the EU from July 7 this year. However, those automakers that are rapidly developing autonomous technologies have already anticipated this. This system is already used in “Hyundai” “Ioniq 5” or “Ioniq 6” electric cars. It monitors the road ahead with a radar and video camera and can stop the car independently if a vehicle, cyclist or pedestrian suddenly appears in front. On the other hand, in the Hyundai Tucson SUV, this system has an improved function that helps to avoid a frontal collision at an intersection when turning left.
“I myself would like to entrust the driving to a robot right now, because I don’t enjoy daily driving. However, I am sure that self-driving cars will not become everyday life in Latvia so soon. What’s next? Then we will see, but the possibility that the robots will come to us as well cannot be denied. But one thing is already completely clear – we will constantly feel that each new car is smarter and protects us better and better,” summarizes Kārlis Mendziņš.
Also read: VIDEO | Throne, personal church and Western luxury – Putin’s secret palace reconstructed
Read also: “I am a fierce competitor,” – how Auziņa, caught up in the Lasmani scandal, broke into the field of burial
