South Korean telecommunications company LG Uplus (LG U+) successfully tested a 5G network-based autonomous car driving and parking solution through real-time traffic in Seoul on Thursday.
In an online video demonstration, LG U+, Korean company Controlworks, and Hanyang University‘s Automotive Control and Electronics Laboratory (ACE Lab) demonstrated the self-parking system in an uncontrolled, real-life setting in Sangam-dong, western Seoul.
The mobile carrier test-drove the self-driving vehicle for five minutes on roads, managing to avoid obstacles and follow traffic rules. The autonomous car also achieved to enter and park itself in a public parking lot nearby.
LG Uplus used Hyundai Motor‘s Genesis GV80 as the test car equipped with lidar and radar sensors. The vehicle started by driving 800 meters (0.5 miles) from a parking lot and through a neighborhood.
Through a mobile app developed by LG U+, the user designates the parking lot and space, which the car parked without incident. The company said that the system also provides the autonomous vehicle’s real-time location reflected on a virtual map. The app then sends a notification when the car has safely driven to its location.
In March 2019, LG U+ and the Hanyang University lab demonstrated a 5G-connected autonomous vehicle on Seoul’s roads. The technology allows the self-driving car to receive traffic signal information instead of relying on sensors.
Meanwhile, South Korean self-driving technology company Controlworks developed the sensors on the vehicle, which processes visual information. This tells the car if a parking spot is empty or not.
The Next Step To Autonomous Driving
“Parking is an unavoidable process in the driving experience, and from that perspective, self-driving is the next step of the autonomous driving technology we presented last year.”
-Sunwoo Myung-ho, a professor of automotive engineering at Hanyang University and head of the ACE Lab
Sunwoo added that the technology would allow drivers to save time finding empty parking spots and free them of the hassle of parking their cars.
LG Uplus said that it made 137 test runs using 5G technology before demonstrating the system to local reporters. The mobile carrier added that it would complete trials of the technology for the wider public in January next year.
