▲ Status of Designated Pangyo Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Zone (Source: Convergence Institute)


Providing demand-responsive services is expected to become easier.
Demonstrations of autonomous driving services in transportation, passenger transport, and logistics will be conducted.

As the Pangyo autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone expands from a route to a district, it appears that various autonomous driving-based transportation services will become available.

The Gyeonggi Autonomous Driving Center of the Institute of Advanced Convergence Technology (hereinafter referred to as the Institute) announced on the 30th of last month that it has expanded the designation of the Pangyo autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone from a route form to a zone form.

An autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone is an area where special regulatory provisions are applied to promote the research and pilot operation of autonomous vehicles in accordance with Article 7 of the Act on the Promotion and Support of Commercialization of Autonomous Vehicles.

On June 24, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held the 'Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation District Committee' and deliberated and approved the expansion of the Pangyo Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation District in Seongnam, Gyeonggi-do into a zone, and finalized the change.

The Gyeonggi Autonomous Driving Center at the Convergence Institute has been operating a Zero Shuttle autonomous driving demonstration project that circulates from the Gyeonggi Enterprise Growth Center to Pangyo Avenue France within the existing 7km route of the Pangyo Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Operation Zone.

The Pangyo autonomous vehicle pilot operation zone will be changed and expanded from the existing route to a 1.34㎢, 0.53km area from the 1st Techno Valley to the 2nd Techno Valley.

The expanded area was designated after reviewing the demand of public transportation users, along with Pangyo workers and residents.

As the pilot operation zone expands from a fixed route to a specific area, it is expected to facilitate the provision of demand-responsive services that allow passengers to call for autonomous driving services from their desired location, regardless of the route. Furthermore, based on this expanded scope, active demonstrations of autonomous driving services are anticipated to take place across various fields, including transportation, passenger transport, and logistics.

The Pangyo Autonomous Vehicle Pilot Zone of the Gyeonggi Autonomous Driving Center, which Gyeonggi Province has been developing since 2016 and the Convergence Institute has been operating since 2019, is the first in Korea to conduct research such as operating an autonomous vehicle pilot zone based on actual roads, establishing an autonomous driving control center, and operating autonomous vehicles and collecting data. With this expansion of the zone, there are plans to gradually expand the construction of autonomous driving infrastructure.

Meanwhile, according to our coverage, an official stated that the company responsible for paid autonomous transportation in the Pangyo Autonomous Driving Zone has not yet been determined.

While the pilot operation zones are being expanded, it remains uncertain when autonomous driving-based services will be available.