Seoul City Issues Limited Transportation License for Self-Driving Paid Transportation to SUM
“We will make sure that the people can enjoy domestic autonomous driving technology first.”

SUM (hereinafter referred to as SUM) has fully launched autonomous paid transportation in Sangam-dong, taking a step closer to its goal of universalizing safety and convenience.

SUM announced that it has received a limited transportation license for paid autonomous vehicle transportation and will operate a bus-type autonomous vehicle (Solati) in Sangam-dong, Seoul.

SUM is a startup company that develops autonomous driving-related technologies, founded by Hyun Young-jin, CEO of Professor Lee Kyung-soo's lab at Seoul National University's Department of Mechanical Engineering. It is currently conducting autonomous driving-related business in the mobility building in the Siheung Campus area of Seoul National University.

SUM conducted a 30km autonomous driving demonstration as a free taxi service in Siheung, where its research center is located. He said that through verification, he was able to increase the maturity of autonomous driving technology and based on this, he challenged passenger service providers.

CEO Hyun Young-jin said, “SUM’s core technology is autonomous driving judgment and control software,” and expressed a strong will to implement the technology, saying, “We want to make sure that our citizens are the first to enjoy autonomous driving implemented with domestic technology.”

He continued, “If you look at Incheon Namdong Industrial Complex, there are no buses for people who come home from work late at night,” and presented a bright future, saying, “If autonomous buses become commercialized, they will also contribute to the safety of people who come home from work late at night.”

SUM has the technology to improve the safety of autonomous vehicles and the stability of the system by focusing on the judgment, planning, control, and Fallback modules, which are the core of Level 4 autonomous driving among AD system software modules.

Based on this, the company aims to create a business model that includes design, manufacturing, and sales suitable for autonomous driving section services, as well as a premium autonomous driving taxi service and autonomous driving mobility business for transportation and logistics.

SUM's Solati is characterized by its three lidars, which greatly enhances safety. One is installed in the front of the vehicle and two are installed in the back. Officials said that they judged that installing them was right, even if it was expensive, for the safety of the passengers and the passengers of surrounding vehicles. This vehicle also performed a C-ITS autonomous vehicle demonstration in Gwangju Metropolitan City.

Meanwhile, SUM received temporary autonomous driving operation permits for Solati and Carnival in November last year and expressed its ambition to develop into Korea's leading total autonomous driving solution company in the near future.