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| A self-driving car jointly developed by Hyundai Mobis and Yandex / Courtesy of Hyundai Mobis |
By Kwak Yeon-soo
Hyundai Mobis and Russia's Yandex will be testing a public robotaxi service with a newly developed self-driving car, the auto parts maker said Thursday.
An auto parts affiliate of Hyundai Motor and global IT company Yandex will test ride 100 driverless cars on public roads in Moscow by the end of this year.
Together, they will expand the testing of jointly developed control systems for driverless vehicles to other regions.
Earlier in March, the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), with the ultimate goal of creating a self-driving platform that can be used by any car manufacturer or taxi fleet.
The two have been cooperating in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies for voice and video recognition as well as infotainment technologies.
Just six weeks after signing the MOU, the two companies succeeded in transforming the Hyundai Sonata into a driverless vehicle.
Hyundai Mobis dispatched its researchers to Russia to accelerate platform development.
Yandex is known to have strengths regarding AI-based autonomous algorithms, while Hyundai Motor Group's auto parts maker unit is equipped with core autonomous parts technologies and sensors to ensure safety of the control system.
Hyundai Mobis said it expects the collaboration to serve as a gateway into the future mobility market and securing future vehicle technologies.
