All highway all over South Korea will be improved for self-driving cars over the next few years, the government said Tuesday, in an ambitious project intended to remove a major barrier facing the technology.
South Korea at first plans to update the country's 5,500 km of highways, then improve the infrastructure on local streets in major cities also by 2024. The Asian country, which has taken the lead in to start ahead fifth-generation wireless communications, is staking out a position at the front of the pack in driverless car infrastructure as well.
Like for example, signaling devices installed at traffic lights will notify the autonomous vehicle directly when the light changes color, in the place of the car having to rely upon a camera to determine whether the light is red or green. Other signals will relay the width of lanes so that the vehicles can adapt accordingly. Besides, the government plans to work typically with domestic companies to develop detailed 3-D mapping data.
Significant South Korean agencies will create requirements for the signaling technology. Manufacturers will be given incentives to formulate the products. Wireless carriers KT and SK Telecom are conducting research and development in the area. The government's road map toward a driverless future will encourage development in the private sector.
Yet South Korea's private sector trails those from other countries at expanding autonomous technology in the vehicles themselves. Hyundai Motor, the nation's leading automaker, unveiled a driverless collaboration with Aptiv, a U.S.-based auto tech supplier, in a bid to catch up with opponents.
