Hyundai Supports Driverless Cars with Student Competition
From new car-connected apps to designing whole cars, innovations in the automotive industry are relying increasingly on the contributions of young minds. One of these inevitable developments has become the self-driving car.
While the genesis of the autonomous car has been primarily seen in Silicon Valley, thanks to Google’s efforts, major automakers around the world are having to face the impending arrival of the self-driving car.
Some brands, like Toyota, are shying away from the dicey concept and focusing on what they’re familiar with. Other brands, like BMW, are using the opportunity to promote their cutting-edge reputations.
Now, Hyundai tosses its hat in the ring with the latest Future Automobile Technology Competition. During the event, the Korean automaker asserted that Hyundai supports driverless cars with the help of student ideas.
Hyundai Supports Driverless Cars Built in Student Competition
October held the 12th edition of the annual Future Automobile Technology Competition, an exclusive tournament in which the minds and efforts of college students face off. It’s the only event of its kind in Korea but it rarely receives much national attention.
That is, until this year, when the gathering proved Hyundai supports driverless cars.
Participants and spectators this month at Hwaseong-si, Gyeonggi-do had the opportunity to witness automobiles actually manufactured by students being tested on the ITS test circuit of Traffic Safety. The top four teams, based on initial scoring, of twelve total participating, were able to have their machines driven and judged on the track.
Hyundai Motor Group provided the funds totaling $84,662, as well as the actual base vehicles, for each of the twelve teams, under the condition that Hyundai researchers shared their development and production experiences with the team. It sounds like when Hyundai supports driverless cars, the brand is actually keeping its fingers on other people’s ideas. But, with a $94,000 first prize payout, who cares?
“Technologies found in the Autonomous Vehicle Competition including lane departure prevention system and advanced smart cruise function are actually applied in autonomous vehicles, explained one associate with the Hyundai Motor Group. “Together with technologies of environment-friendly vehicles, autonomous car technologies will become the key to automobile industry in Korea.”
A History with Autonomous Vehicle Technology
Believe it or not, the theme of the Auto Tech competition has been autonomous vehicle development for the past four years. That’s right. Since 2010, not only have we seen that Hyundai supports driverless cars, but that the brand is actually paving the road to serious development.
That may come as a surprise for a hit-or-miss Asian automaker who’s known for simple suburban sedans. But, if autonomous vehicle technology is to eventually flourish, it’s not unreasonable to expect to see it implemented in more commonplace, family-oriented, and affordable sedans.
After all, we can’t all afford cars from Silicon Valley.
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