SEOUL: Hyundai said today it has completed South Korea's first domestic highway journey with an autonomously navigated semi-trailer truck.
Hyundai's Xcient truck drove 40km on the highway between Uiwang and Incheon, carrying a large semi-trailer simulating cargo transportation, showcasing Hyundai's innovative technological advancement in future mobility.
The demonstration took place on Tuesday and was conducted using the Xcient model truck, which has a maximum load capacity of 40 tons.
This was semi-equipped with a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) standard Level 3 autonomous driving system, enabling it to steer, accelerate or decelerate, and manoeuvre through traffic, all without human input. A human driver was on-board to take over manual control when required.
The vehicle was equipped with features, which enabled it to maintain and change lanes during the natural flow of traffic, detect lane changes made by vehicles in front of it, navigate through tunnels, and perform a complete halt or accelerate according to road traffic.
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Ten sensors, including three front and side-rear cameras, two frontal and rear radars, three Lidars in the front and sides, and a hitch angle sensor in the trailer coupler which computes the change in angle between the truck and trailer in real-time, allowing the truck to be safely stabilised upon sharp turns.
The data collected by each sensor collaborates with the HD map and sends information to the electronic control module for localisation. The module then decides on each situation, controlling the speed, steering, and breaking accordingly.
A new steering control system (MAHS : Motor Assist Hydraulic Steering) developed by Hyundai Mobis was also implemented, providing a precise steering mechanism that controls the steering angle depending on the decision made by the electronic control unit. This minimises the effort required to steer the vehicle, reducing driver fatigue.
Hyundai said the autonomous navigation of heavy duty trucks would transform the trade logistics industry and also reduce the number of road accidents caused by human error.
"At this stage, a human driver is still used to control the vehicle manually in certain situations, but I think we will achieve level 4 automation soon as we are constantly upgrading our technological capability," said Hyundai Commercial Vehicle R&D Strategy Group director Dr Maik Ziegler.
For the demonstration the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued a temporary autonomous driving licence for the first time to a heavy-duty truck.
