When I rode the Cheonggyecheon autonomous bus… Manual mode transition for sudden situations such as tailgating
Near Saeun Market, ‘completely manual’… “Goal is a driverless unmanned vehicle”
‘ (Seoul=Yonhap News) Lee Sangseo Reporter = “Welcome aboard the FortyTwoDot autonomous vehicle. Let’s depart.” ‘,
” On the 31st at Seoul Cheonggye Plaza, as the driver turned on the ignition and set the vehicle to autonomous mode, the ‘Cheonggyecheon autonomous bus’ smoothly started moving.”,
‘ While traveling at 30 km/h, the bus would switch to manual mode when obstacles such as tailgating vehicles or suddenly appearing pedestrians blocked its path, then switch back to autonomous mode repeatedly.’,
‘ Upon reaching the vicinity of Saeun Market, it continued its operation in manual mode. ‘,
” At the ‘Demonstration Site for the Development of Autonomous Driving Industry’ hosted by the Personal Information Protection Commission and the Ministry of Science and ICT, the autonomous bus developed by FortyTwoDot ran from Cheonggye Plaza to Saeun Market.”,
‘ The autonomous bus, which circulates approximately 3 km from Cheonggye Plaza to Saeun Market, uses 11 cameras and 6 radars to collect real-time road conditions, pedestrian information, and various other information to transport passengers without the help of a driver.’,
‘ It is also an electric vehicle with a high-capacity battery that can travel 300 km on a 30-minute charge.’,
‘ Autonomous driving is divided into a total of 5 levels based on the driver’s intervention.’,
‘ The Cheonggyecheon autonomous bus operates at a level of about 3 where the driver boards and intervenes when necessary.’,
‘ Currently, it is not easy to operate complex urban areas entirely through autonomous driving technology.’,
‘ In particular, Saeun Market has agreed with the Seoul Metropolitan Government to operate manually as it often encounters unexpected elements such as cars parked on the side of the road, discarded luggage, rear-facing wheelchairs, and motorcycles driving in the opposite direction, according to a FortyTwoDot official.’,
‘ The official emphasized that they are working to accumulate various high-quality data to enhance the relevant systems, collect information on various unexpected situations, and reduce accident rates.’,
‘ During the operation, personal information such as pedestrians’ faces is anonymized individually, and efforts are also being made to minimize potential privacy infringements by disposing of the data after a certain period.’,
‘ The FortyTwoDot official stated that they are currently aiming to develop up to level 4 (where driver intervention is only required in some specific situations), and expressed their ambition to ultimately achieve driverless unmanned vehicles.’,
‘ shlamazel@yna.co.kr’,