[THE INVESTOR] South Korea has launched its project to develop a new test bed for self-driving cars that will also include the development of new technologies to test autonomous cars, the government said on Aug. 9.
The new test bed, called the K-city, will be built around the Korea Transportation Safety Authority’s existing proving ground in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
The new test bed, called the K-city, will be built around the Korea Transportation Safety Authority’s existing proving ground in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.
A ceremony marking the start of the 18.8 billion-won (US$17 million) project was held at a Seoul hotel earlier in the day. The new test bed, to be built by December 2019, will consist of various settings, each representing different driving conditions from a high-speed expressway to inner-city roads.
The project also includes efforts to develop new technologies to test self-driving cars.
Already, the ministry has designated sections of existing roads, totaling 320 kilometers in total length, for testing self-driving cars.
“With the start of efforts to build a self-driving test bed, the K-city, we have taken the first step toward developing safety standards for self-driving cars that are essential to the commercialization of self-driving cars,” the ministry said in a press release.
“We believe a successful use of the test bed will greatly contribute to the development of technologies for self-driving cars, along with the new industrial sector itself.”
(theinvestor@heraldcorp.com)