Self-Driving Car To Be Tested On Public Roads In South Korea

South Korea will be testing a self-driving car on public roads for the very first time.

By Sukesh

Updated: Thursday, November 17, 2016, 12:03 [IST]

South Korea is in a race to beat other nations in terms of self-driving technology. South Korea will be testing the driverless car in real traffic conditions.

Self-Driving Car To Be Tested In Real Traffic In South Korea

Professor of Seoul National University, Seo Seung-woo stated that the self-driving car developed by his team will start plying on the streets of Seoul by early 2017. This is possible because of revised law which came into effect last Tuesday.

His team was testing the self-driving car inside the university campus. The team used Hyundai Genesis sedan which is fitted with sensors and cameras.

The test vehicle has completed more than 10,000kms of testing in past two years and it had no issues what so ever. The only limitation was it could not hit the roads because of regulations.

The newly enforced law allows self-driving cars to enter public roads around the country. Currently, eight driverless cars including Seo's team has been registered in South Korea's transport ministry.

Seo revealed two upgraded driverless cars which are capable of navigating narrow streets and identify road signs and traffic lights. One of the cars will be tested in traffic after its is approved by the government.

South Korea has been lagging behind to test self-driving cars on public roads. Whereas other nations have been testing driverless cars as public transport in real traffic conditions.