Seoul: Hyundai Motor Co. and its affiliate Kia Corp. have announced their decision to incorporate autonomous driving technologies from U.S. tech giant Nvidia Corp. into select models, marking a significant expansion in their collaboration with the company for future mobility solutions. The decision represents a strategic move by the South Korean carmakers to integrate advanced self-driving features into their vehicles.
According to Yonhap News Agency, this collaboration involves the joint development of next-generation autonomous driving systems by merging Hyundai and Kia's software-defined vehicle capabilities with Nvidia's Level 2+ self-driving features. Hyundai Motor Group emphasized their intention to leverage Nvidia's data platforms and artificial intelligence technologies, while systematically integrating accumulated data into a unified learning pipeline. This effort is part of their broader strategy to enhance technological competitiveness in autonomous driving systems.
In addition to this, through their U.S.-based autonomous vehicle joint venture, Motional, the group will work alongside Nvidia to advance Motional's Level 4 robotaxi capabilities. Kim Heung-soo, executive vice president and head of Hyundai's Global Strategy Office, highlighted the importance of this partnership with Nvidia in achieving safe and reliable self-driving technology. The collaboration aims to establish an integrated self-driving architecture scalable from Level 2 to Level 4, building on the Nvidia Drive Hyperion platform.
Level 2 automated driving systems require drivers to remain fully engaged and ready to take control at any time. Level 3 vehicles can perform certain driving tasks, such as lane changes, without driver intervention under specific conditions. Level 4 vehicles can operate autonomously in limited environments but will not function if required conditions are not met. At Level 5, fully automated vehicles can operate under all conditions without human input.
Rishi Dhall, vice president of the automotive business at Nvidia, remarked on the future of mobility being built on AI and software. By combining Hyundai Motor Group's expertise in vehicle engineering with Nvidia's accelerated computing and AI, the partnership aims to build safe and intelligent Nvidia Drive-based autonomous driving systems.