What's the news?
A trio of Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) has completed a 190km, Level 4 autonomous drive from Seoul to Pyeongchang in South Korea - marking the first time in the world that FCEVs have conducted themselves at such a high level of automation.
The three Nexos covered the trek on public highways at the Korean maximum speed of 110km/h, using their advanced onboard AI and also 5G network technology. At the start of the journey on February 2, the 'CRUISE' and 'SET' buttons were pressed on the steering wheel and the Nexos went into self-driving mode for the next 190km - moving in response to the natural flow of traffic, executing smooth lane changes and overtaking manoeuvres, and also navigating themselves through toll gates using Hi-pass, South-Korea's wireless expressway payment system.
The trip build on the successful demonstration of Hyundai's autonomous tech, following the 2017 debut of the system at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The cars use a number of technologies - including multiple cameras and LIDAR - to better recognise surrounding vehicles more accurately and to perform better manoeuvres at junctions. A suite of external sensors allowed the Nexos to pinpoint their position on a map, even when the GPS signal was interrupted as they travelled through underground tunnels on the journey.
Using FCEVs was also a key part of the trip, as the onboard systems of the autonomous cars necessitate large power consumption. Yet the FCEV drivetrain can generate enough electricity to meet that AI need, as well as propelling the vehicle forward as well. Clever and green - it's a sobering thought for us petrolheads, isn't it?
Hyundai has so far conducted a significant number of highway test drives, amounting to hundreds of thousands of kilometres travelled, which has enabled the accumulation of data to enhance the performance of its self-driving vehicles. Jinwoo Lee, head of the Intelligent Safety Technology Centre at Hyundai Motor Group, said: "Hyundai's philosophy for developing autonomous driving technology is to provide the highest level of safety combined with a high standard of convenience that our customers expect."
Anything else?
The Nexo FCEV, Hyundai's next-generation fuel cell electric vehicle, is scheduled to be released in Korea next month... although, presumably, until the legislation catches up, without the Level 4 autonomous driving capability.