Hyundai demonstrates autonomous trucks

Hyundai has successfully conducted the company’s first platooning of trucks on the Yeoju Smart Highway in Korea, replicating real-world traffic conditions.

Hyundai conducted the trial using two Xcient trucks with single trailers.

Yeoju Smart Highway is a 7.7km testbed within the central region expressway established by the Korean government for the development of autonomous driving technology. The highway is constantly populated by vehicles for autonomous driving research, making it quite similar to the conditions of an actual highway.

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According to Hyundai, the demonstration successfully displayed vehicle platooning, cut-in/out by other vehicles, simultaneous emergency braking, and V2V (Vehicle to Vehicle) communication technology.

The demonstration was part of a project initiated by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MOLIT). Since 2018, MOLIT has been working to support pioneering efforts for autonomous technology. Along with Hyundai Motor Company, the national project involved government, corporations, and academia.

The platooning manoeuvre begins when the driver of the following truck approaches the leading vehicle and activates platooning mode.

Upon activation of platooning mode, the following truck maintains a 16.7m distance, with real-time fine tuning based on the leading vehicle’s acceleration and deceleration. The driver does not need to put his/her foot on the accelerator or brakes, thus reducing fatigue on the road and improving safety.

The mode activates lane keeping technology which makes it possible for the driver of following truck to take his or her hands off the steering wheel.

With Hyundai’s platooning mode, other vehicles cutting in and out between trucks can also be managed. If a vehicle cuts between the platooning trucks, the following truck automatically extends the gap to a minimum of 25m.

The V2V system applied to both trucks in this demonstration showcased how real time information sharing between platooning vehicles can improve control over acceleration and deceleration, and also incorporate ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance System) information from various sensors like cameras and radar.

Furthermore, the Real-time Frontal Video Sharing feature displays videos from the lead vehicle so the following driver can see the road ahead.

In August 2018, Hyundai demonstrated South Korea's first domestic highway journey with an autonomous truck for approximately 40km on the highway between Uiwang and Incheon. The truck displayed SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers Standard) Level-3 autonomous driving.