launcht Future self-driving cars do not have to be pure electric vehicles, and Hyundai is determined to prove it. The South Korean automaker sent a convoy of five self-driving cars on a road trip from Seoul to Pyeongchang, site of the 2018 Winter Olympics. The cars drove a full 190 kilometers (118 miles) between the two cities in autonomous mode, according to Hyundai, which hopes to begin limited production of its self-driving cars by 2021.
The company claimed that, the distance covered is the longest that any self-driving vehicle has achieved on highway – at speeds of around 62-68MPH. The convoy consisted of five cars, three of which were modified Hyundai Nexo hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles and the other two were modified Genesis G80 sedans from the automaker’s luxury brand. This is also the first time autonomous-driving tech has been used in a fuel-cell vehicle.
All cars used in the test were Level 4, meaning they are capable of autonomous driving in most circumstances, but may still require occasional human assistance. Each car sported the array of radar, LiDAR, and cameras that is typical of current autonomous prototypes, and was connected to a 5G network from Korean firm KT Corp. Hyundai plans to use 5G connectivity to entertain passengers in future self-driving cars, even devising a karaoke app called Everysing.
