Hyundai Rolling Out Its Own “RoboShuttle”

No one wants to be left out of the robotaxi future. The latest auto company with news in this sector is Hyundai. Though, it’s skipping the cars/robotaxis and jumping into the van/roboshuttle sector.

The roboshuttle service launched in Sejong Smart City, South Korea, on August 9.

Naturally, this is not “level 5,” go-anywhere roboshuttle service. The artificial intelligence powering the Hyundai H350 van is only so intelligent at this point. The service runs on a specific 6.1-km route. In fact, Hyundai is also careful to not claim that it is a level 4 autonomous driving system. The company says that it “applies a range of Level 4-comparable core technologies,” and also announces that it has been granted an “autonomous driving Level 3” permit from the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

In case the AI & transport name games aren’t enough for you yet, note that the roboshuttle service will run with the help of “Shucle (named after ‘Shuttle’ and ‘Circle’), a demand-responsive mobility service running in Sejong City, launched by AIRS Company, a specialized AI research lab under Hyundai Motor Group.” The roboshuttle can be requested via the Shucle app, and then the AI algorithms running deep inside the app will get to work identifying the smartest, quickest route to pick up the passenger and take them to their destination.

“Shucle is the first ride-pooling service to be launched in South Korea offering shared mobility solutions to passengers with similar routes by using algorithms to determine the optimal route based on demand. The service is expected to make public transportation more efficient as the vehicle will only stop at pick-up and drop-off points that have been pre-selected by passengers via the app.”

If the pilot system works well, the roboshuttle service will expand into other regions of South Korea, as well as the Hyundai Motor and Kia Namyang Research and Development Center later in the year.