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| KT's autonomous bus |
By Kang Seung-woo
KT has gained government permission to test-drive its autonomous bus on public roads for the first time in Korea.
"The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has granted clearance for road trials of dozens of autonomous sedans and SUVs, but this is the first time for it to grant approval to test-drive a self-driving bus on public streets," a KT official said.
Since 2015, the nation's second-largest wireless provider has developed autonomous cars. It unveiled the driverless bus in a March event.
KT said an autonomous bus requires more advanced technologies than a self-driving car or SUV because it does not allow electronic control on handles, brakes or other auto parts and is long and heavy.
"In that respect, high-profile carmakers with advanced technologies such as Mercedes-Benz and Scania are leading players in the development of autonomous buses," the official said.
The KT bus, capable of driving on its own, can also move in a "platoon" formation, with one bus following only inches behind the next.
In addition, KT's driverless bus is also equipped with Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR), as well as a precise detection system using the company's mobile communication network.
KT is now testing the bus' autonomous driving technology on expressways and plans to carry out a variety of tests gradually.
"The government permission enables us to test-drive the autonomous bus under actual conditions," the KT official said.
"With many research partners, we plan to enhance cooperation on developing self-driving technologies."
The Seoul-based company has a plan to commercialize the world's first 5G service in 2019 by successfully demonstrating it at the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February 2018.
IT-savvy Korea is currently moving to commercialize level 3 self-driving cars by 2020.
A level 3 self-driving car refers to an autonomous car that can fully assume control of all safety-critical functions in certain conditions, while it automatically senses conditions that require the driver to retake control and provides a "sufficiently comfortable transition time" for the driver to do so.
Among other local developers of self-driving cars are top carmakers Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors as well as Naver, SK Telecom and Samsung Electronics.
