Autonomous driving technology development innovation project begins this year
Support for ICT, infrastructure, etc. for autonomous driving business
Four Ministries to Launch Autonomous Driving Business Unit in March


Current autonomous driving technology is at Level 2, which assists the driver's driving. Level 3 autonomous vehicles capable of conditional autonomous driving requiring driver intervention in emergency situations in the operating area are expected to be released within the next 1-2 years. However, implementing Level 4 fully autonomous driving, where the vehicle can judge the situation on its own and driver intervention is unnecessary even in emergency situations, requires changes not only in vehicles and parts, but also in infrastructure.

On the 15th, four organizations including the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and ICT, and the National Police Agency announced 53 new projects for the 2021 'Autonomous Driving Technology Development Innovation Project', in which 85.04 billion won will be invested. A total of 1.974 trillion won will be invested in the project from this year to 2027.

The four ministries plan to support five major areas: ▲new vehicle convergence technology ▲new ICT convergence technology ▲new road traffic convergence technology ▲service creation ▲ecosystem construction, with the goal of completing the Level 4 fully autonomous driving infrastructure by 2027.

First, we will promote the development of core technologies for level 4 autonomous vehicles, including autonomous driving computing technology, cognitive prediction sensing technology, precision positioning technology, cooperative control technology, vehicle-passenger interaction technology, and safety design technology. This year, we will embark on 15 projects (KRW 18.2 billion), including core cognitive sensor modules, AI-based high-performance computing technology, and autonomous driving platforms.

Next, in order to strengthen the safety and enhance the intelligence of autonomous driving, we are developing △a 3-tier autonomous driving structure that links high-performance cloud servers and edge computing of transportation infrastructure, △vehicle communication (V2X) that connects the inside and outside of vehicles, △security technology, etc. This year, 13 tasks (KRW 21 billion) will be included, including △autonomous driving perception, judgment, and control AI software technology, and autonomous driving learning data collection and processing technology.

In addition, in order to achieve level 4 autonomous driving safety that is difficult to implement with only vehicle sensors, we are developing △convergence plans with road traffic facilities and △cooperation plans between various traffic entities (drivers, vehicles, pedestrians, infrastructure, traffic centers, etc.). This year, we will embark on 11 tasks (KRW 20.2 billion), including a digital road and traffic infrastructure convergence platform and advanced road condition recognition technology.

And, new services based on autonomous driving In order to create, we are developing various services such as ▲support for the transportation disadvantaged, ▲real-time demand-responsive autonomous public transportation service, ▲autonomous shared car service, and ▲emergency vehicle passage support. This year, we will focus on three tasks (KRW 8.3 billion) including support for the transportation disadvantaged, demand-responsive public transportation, road traffic infrastructure monitoring, and emergency restoration support.

Lastly, in order to create an ecosystem in the autonomous driving field, we are developing a global standard system and test standards (targeting at least 5 international standards), safety assessment technology for collision situations, and autonomous driving traffic accident analysis systems, as well as improving related laws and regulations. This year, we will begin all tasks (11 projects) related to ecosystem construction, including standards and safety assessment technology, at a cost of KRW 17.4 billion.

◇ Autonomous Driving Business Unit Officially Launched in March

The four ministries plan to support the commercialization of future achievements.

In order to increase the possibility of commercialization and expand business performance, we plan demand-linked projects that require the participation of demand companies such as automobile manufacturers or Tier 1 parts companies, increase the score for commercialization and economic feasibility (30 → 40 points) during project selection evaluation, and make it mandatory for implementing organizations to submit their commercialization history.

We plan to apply a moving target system that allows flexible changes to task objectives, form a consultative body with autonomous driving demand companies to reflect relevant market trends, and provide ICT field results in the form of open software so that they can be freely utilized by companies and academia.

In addition, we plan to develop seven autonomous driving services that the public can experience, and conduct verification of the developed autonomous driving services in a city-scale living lab verification environment from 2023 to 2027 to increase the public's acceptance of autonomous driving.

The four ministries plan to officially launch the so-called 'Autonomous Driving Technology Development Innovation Task Force' in March and begin integrated business management and business performance creation. The project submission period is scheduled to be from February 1 (Mon) to February 17 (Wed), and detailed project proposals (RFPs) can be found on the websites of the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology Evaluation and Planning (KEIT), the Institute of Information and Communications Technology Planning and Evaluation (IITP), the Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement (KAIA), and the National Police Agency.