Speaking at CES2016 in Las Vegas, Kia’s vice president Seung Ho Hwang announced its “Drive Wise” plan to produce partially-autonomous vehicles by 2020, and fully self-driving cars by 2030. The State of Nevada has granted a special license to Kia to test the autonomous Kia Soul EV on public roads.
The South Korean auto manufacturer reaffirmed its commitment to developing its own technology for self-driving consumer vehicles. Previously, the automaker had said that it expected to have the first of the advanced technology vehicles ready by 2020. The company plans to invest up to US$2 billion into the project, which involves very challenging development tasks.
A growing number of other automakers and technology companies have also announced plans to develop vehicles with autonomous technology.
Also at CES2016, several tech companies have shown or announced sensor and processor devices that aim to make it easier for automakers to develop their autonomous products. Fully self-driving vehicles will require multiple sensors to detect both stationary and moving objects, plus massive computing power to develop the sensor input and programming into instant control of the vehicle’s direction and speed. The effort to develop such vehicles is likely to serve as a massive stimulus to many companies in the high-tech sector.
Kia, a unit of Hyundai, a South Korean corporation.