SOCAR said on the 7th that on the 6th it held a "Autonomous Driving shared car demonstration service test drive" to experience Autonomous Driving technology firsthand and discuss strategies to respond to the industry's future.
The event was organized to share the results of the national project "Development of Autonomous Driving Level 4/4+ shared car service technology," in which SOCAR is participating as a consortium, with executives of the Korea Rent-a-Car Business Association Federation. On site, it showcased a demonstration model that resolves the constraints of rent-a-car services—where a person must move the vehicle to a desired location or users must visit a specific place for lending and return—through Autonomous Driving technology.
Attendees experienced the core system of the cross-ministerial research and development program "Autonomous Driving Technology Development and Innovation Project Group," led by The Korea Transport Institute (KOTI) and jointly carried out by SOCAR and others. With this technology, when a vehicle is called via the app, the vehicle moves by Autonomous Driving to where the user is, and when use ends, it moves on its own to the return location or depot.
The test drive was conducted with the Torres EVX developed as an Autonomous Driving vehicle. Participants drove about 4.5 kilometers around the Hwaseong Autonomous Driving Living Lab area and confirmed integration suitability among the app, operations server, and Autonomous Driving.
Ko Jae-uk, Deputy Minister of SOCAR's External Cooperation Unit, said, "Autonomous Driving technology is a massive paradigm shift that the entire mobility ecosystem must face and prepare for together, beyond the achievements of specific corporations," adding, "Based on the service operations know-how we have accumulated and our research capabilities in Autonomous Driving technology, SOCAR will communicate closely with the rent-a-car industry to further solidify a win-win model and partnerships for the Autonomous Driving era."