Photo: Hyundai
For humans to be able to drive a car on public roads certain steps must be completed. First, people must learn how to operate a vehicle, and for that special practical courses must be held. Then, they must learn the rules and laws of the road. In the end, a practical driver's license test must be successfully completed.
The rules governing people becoming drivers vary from country to country, but they generally go the same way and are applicable to all those wishing to move in this world by means of a vehicle. But what do you do when the car itself is the driver?
The rise of autonomous vehicles is not yet fast enough for us to be faced with an immediate flood of self-driving cars. But they are coming, and some have begun to wonder if these computer-controlled drivers are as good at it as human drivers are.
South Korean carmaker Hyundai is working on fully autonomous cars as well, and one of the test platforms it uses for this is the all-electric Ioniq 5. With help from partner Motional, Hyundai is so advanced in its quest that it seems the car could easily pass a U.S. driver’s license test while no human is in control.
At least that’s what the South Koreans are telling us after running a simulated test of the EV on both a closed course and in the setting of a virtual Las Vegas Strip and the city’s suburban areas.
The test was conducted at an undisclosed time and in an undisclosed location in the presence of someone named Kandice Jones. The woman has been a DMV Certified Driving Examiner for 25 years now, and she says that during the course of her career she failed “thousands and thousands of students in the interest of public safety.” But, apparently, she would not do the same for the Ioniq 5.
As per the results of the test, the car’s autonomous systems, cameras, sensors, and whatnot were virtually put through their paces and proved the vehicle can adapt speed to road conditions and is in full control of lane changes and maneuvering. On top of that, it stopped at the proper road signs and reacted timely to developing hazards.
All of the above is what most human drivers are capable of doing, but also what all autonomous cars out there are currently learning. I have to hand to Hyundai, though, for wrapping all of the car’s capabilities in such an interesting package.
The Ioniq 5 robotaxi, as Hyundai calls the vehicle, is a Level 4 machine equipped with a suite of LiDARs, radars, and cameras. A while back Hyundai said it would be widely available in 2023, but that, naturally, did not happen.
The rise of autonomous vehicles is not yet fast enough for us to be faced with an immediate flood of self-driving cars. But they are coming, and some have begun to wonder if these computer-controlled drivers are as good at it as human drivers are.
South Korean carmaker Hyundai is working on fully autonomous cars as well, and one of the test platforms it uses for this is the all-electric Ioniq 5. With help from partner Motional, Hyundai is so advanced in its quest that it seems the car could easily pass a U.S. driver’s license test while no human is in control.
At least that’s what the South Koreans are telling us after running a simulated test of the EV on both a closed course and in the setting of a virtual Las Vegas Strip and the city’s suburban areas.
The test was conducted at an undisclosed time and in an undisclosed location in the presence of someone named Kandice Jones. The woman has been a DMV Certified Driving Examiner for 25 years now, and she says that during the course of her career she failed “thousands and thousands of students in the interest of public safety.” But, apparently, she would not do the same for the Ioniq 5.
As per the results of the test, the car’s autonomous systems, cameras, sensors, and whatnot were virtually put through their paces and proved the vehicle can adapt speed to road conditions and is in full control of lane changes and maneuvering. On top of that, it stopped at the proper road signs and reacted timely to developing hazards.
All of the above is what most human drivers are capable of doing, but also what all autonomous cars out there are currently learning. I have to hand to Hyundai, though, for wrapping all of the car’s capabilities in such an interesting package.
The Ioniq 5 robotaxi, as Hyundai calls the vehicle, is a Level 4 machine equipped with a suite of LiDARs, radars, and cameras. A while back Hyundai said it would be widely available in 2023, but that, naturally, did not happen.
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