SEOUL, South Korea—A South Korean university is testing a sedan that can pick up and transport passengers without a human driver, giving a glimpse into the future of autonomous public transport.
Seo Seung-Woo, director of the Intelligent Vehicle IT Research Center at Seoul National University, said the university has been testing the driverless taxi to transport disabled students around campus.
The vehicle, called Snuber, has been navigating the 4,109 square meter (44,200 square foot) campus for the past six months without any accidents. It works in conjunction with a hailing app created by the university.
Companies around the world are betting that automated driving technology will transform public transportation.
In Japan, a company called Robot Taxi Inc. plans to offer a full commercial service in 2020. In Greece, driverless buses called CityMobil2 have been tested in real traffic. General Motors Co. said Monday it is investing $500 million in ride-hailing company Lyft Inc. and forming a partnership that could eventually lead to on-demand, self-driving cars.
South Korean companies, however, have been slow to embrace the self-driving technology. The country’s largest carmaker, Hyundai Motor Co., said it expects to roll out a fully automated car in 2030. Only this month, Samsung Electronics created a team to focus on autonomous driving.
