KGM Advances Autonomous Driving Technology... Collaborates with Specialized Companies like SWM

KG Mobility is accelerating the advanced development of Level 4 autonomous driving technology based on cooperation with autonomous driving specialists such as SWM.

According to the industry on the 4th, KGM's Korando e-Motion (currently Korando EV), the first domestic late-night autonomous taxi developed through technical cooperation with SWM, started taxi transportation services last month in the autonomous driving pilot zone in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

The two companies signed a technical cooperation MOU in 2022 regarding the advanced development of Level 4 urban autonomous driving. Through the MOU, KGM supported interface-related technologies such as longitudinal and lateral control of the Korando e-Motion, dynamic information related to vehicle response, and vehicle control networks. SWM developed the autonomous vehicle by installing autonomous driving-related software, sensors, and various hardware necessary for autonomous driving.

Zone-based autonomous taxi services corresponding to Level 4 have begun commercialization in countries such as the United States and China. Since the vehicle must drive to the passenger’s desired location based on calls within a certain zone, the difficulty of autonomous driving technology is higher.

Last month, the country's first late-night autonomous taxi, the Korando E-Motion, began taxi transportation services in the autonomous driving pilot zone in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by KG Mobility]

This late-night autonomous taxi service will initially operate on roads in Gangnam-gu and Seocho-gu, with plans to expand to parts of Sinsa, Nonhyeon, and Samseong-dong.

In particular, KGM and SWM plan to develop safe autonomous vehicles by expanding the late-night autonomous taxi service zones and vehicle models, as well as developing technologies for fault response to ensure the safety of Level 4 autonomous vehicles.

To this end, they participated last year in the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy’s national project, "Development of Fault Reproduction and Integrated Safety Verification Technology for Level 4 Autonomous Driving Systems," concurrently developing safety verification technologies for autonomous driving systems that can respond to vehicle faults, malfunctions, and unexpected environments.

A KGM official said, "Through the advanced development of Level 4 autonomous driving, we expect to enhance passengers’ safe driving experience and convenience to the next level. In particular, perfect autonomous driving requires securing technologies that control various unexpected variables on the road, so we will continue to advance autonomous driving technology based on cooperation with specialists in various fields."