The fully autonomous M.Vision S concept that will be unveiled at CES in Las Vegas next month. (image: Hyundai Mobis)
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Korea Bizwire) — Hyundai Mobis Co., South Korea’s biggest auto parts maker, said Thursday it will unveil an upgraded autonomous concept car at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the world’s biggest consumer technology-focused conference, in the United States next month.
Hyundai Mobis plans to promote its fully autonomous M.Vision S concept and a hydrogen fuel cell electric system for hydrogen-powered vehicles at CES in Las Vegas, the company said in a statement.
Hyundai Mobis has invested in overseas startups with advanced future mobility technologies as it seeks to take the lead in next-generation vehicles.
In September, the company said it will set up a US$4 billion joint venture with Ireland-based autonomous vehicle startup Aptiv next year to develop a self-driving platform.
Hyundai’s decision to work with Aptiv to form the 50:50 joint company, to be headquartered in Boston, is in line with such broad efforts. It is the single biggest overseas investment Hyundai has ever made.
Hyundai and Aptiv will jointly develop a self-driving vehicle platform with Level 4 to 5 autonomous technology by 2022 and supply it to global carmakers.
In October, the company also said it will invest US$50 million in U.S. light detection and ranging (LiDAR) company Velodyne Lidar for autonomous driving technologies to mass-produce Level 3 autonomous driving systems by 2021.
LiDAR is a key component in the overall sensing package required to make autonomous cars a reality.
Hyundai Mobis has been conducting a motorway test of Level 3 technology in its M.BILLY autonomous car since last year in South Korea, the U.S. and Europe.
Since Level 3 cars are only good for limited self-driving, the driver must be available to take control of the car if the need arises.
A Level 3 car, if fully developed, will allow lane changes and other autonomous driving functions to work without intervention by the driver.
There are five levels of driving automation defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers International.
Hyundai Mobis introduced a Level 4 self-driving automation technology in its concept M.VISION at CES in January this year.
At Level 4, a vehicle can drive itself under limited conditions and will not operate if all required conditions are not satisfied. At Level 5, a vehicle’s automated driving features can drive under any conditions.
(Yonhap)
