Last March, Hyundai signed a memorandum of understanding with the Russian technology company Yandex to develop autonomous cars of Level 4 and Level 5 jointly. These levels of autonomous driving are the most advanced since they would not have human intervention. The two companies immediately set to work, as Yandex released a video of a self-diagnostic test of the Hyundai Sonata 2020 prototype in its outdoor laboratory.
The initial objective of the collaboration was to build an autonomous prototype based on a Hyundai or Kia model, and as you can see, that has achieved.
According to Yandex, the new Hyundai Sonata 2020 chosen because its platform allows easy integration of autonomous driving technology and hardware with minimal modifications. The Russian team received the first unit of the Hyundai Sonata at the end of May 2019 and began working on the prototype with Hyundai Mobis engineers.
Initial tests have been carried out on the closed test grounds of Yandex, where the autonomous Sonata has been driving 24/7 in a fully autonomous mode. Currently, the Hyundai Sonata autonomous driving tested in various weather conditions and simulated traffic situations with other autonomous driving cars on track.
Hyundai Sonata autonomous, a work of Yandex
The plan is to start testing the vehicle on the streets of NewYork, “shortly.” The Hyundai Sonata 2020 will be part of the Yandex autonomous fleet, which is expected to reach 100 vehicles by the end of the year. Thanks to the partnership with Hyundai Mobis, more autonomous models of Hyundai and Kia will join the fleet in the future.
“Our collaboration with Hyundai Mobis is an important element of our expansion strategy, and the new Hyundai Sonata is just the beginning,” Yandex said. Through the collaboration with Hyundai Mobis and other automotive players, the company’s long-term goal is to build “an autonomous out-of-the-box driving solution for a wide variety of automotive platforms.”
That is more or less what Waymo is doing with autonomous driving, and it is noteworthy that Yandex is the «Google of Russia.» The program of autonomous cars of the American company began in 2017. To create genuinely autonomous cars of Level 5; that is, vehicles that do not require driver intervention in any driving scenario ». Now, in its third year, the autonomous driving team is approaching the achievement of the objective. «In August, the Robo taxi service successfully launched, we expanded the tests to Israel and demonstrated one of our driverless cars on public roads during CES 2019. As we move forward in our journey towards the development of cars with advanced autonomous driving, we are pleased to announce the first automotive collaboration.
In addition to the credibility increase offered by the agreement with Hyundai Mobis, Yandex entered the dispute with leaders in the field. Therefore, those looking for a decent offer (Uber and Apple) may now be more willing to look beyond Yandex’s Russian roots. Yandex autonomous driving has arrived.