KT's autonomous buses will begin test runs on public roads starting in late September.
Autonomous driving buses have a higher level of difficulty in vehicle control than regular passenger cars.

KT announced on the 22nd that it had become the first company in Korea to receive a permit for autonomous driving buses from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. KT's autonomous buses will be able to conduct test runs on public roads starting this month.

To date, dozens of autonomous vehicles have received certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. However, unlike passenger cars, it is difficult to develop autonomous driving functions for buses, so KT is the only company to have received permission for autonomous driving for a bus.

Unlike passenger cars, buses lack electronic control systems for key vehicle components like steering wheels and brakes. Furthermore, the high placement of sensors makes it difficult to accurately perceive surrounding objects. Furthermore, their long and heavy bodies complicate autonomous vehicle control. For this reason, autonomous driving bus technology development is only being carried out by a few automobile manufacturers that boast the world's best technology, such as Mercedes-Benz and SCANIA.

KT's autonomous driving bus not only operates independently, but also implements additional functions such as platooning, where multiple vehicles drive together. In addition to existing sensors such as lidar and cameras, it is also equipped with a precision location measurement system with an accuracy of several centimeters that utilizes KT's wireless network.


Additionally, compared to existing autonomous vehicles, its safety is expected to be significantly improved through enhanced situational judgment through direct communication with surrounding vehicles, a dramatic increase in the distance of traffic lights, and enhanced prediction of dangers in blind spots.

Since 2015, KT has been developing autonomous passenger vehicles in collaboration with Seoul National University, Unmanned Solutions, and others, and has been verifying various functions such as ▲5G communication, ▲V2X, ▲remote control, and ▲vehicle control in its own test bed, and conducting internal/external VIP demonstrations.

Based on this experience, KT developed a self-driving 5G bus and successfully demonstrated autonomous driving of the 5G bus to the public on a back road within the resort during a test event in February 2017. In addition, we are conducting joint research and development on 5G network-based V2X/autonomous driving in cooperation with vehicle manufacturers.

Currently, KT is verifying autonomous driving functions on highways using self-driving buses, and plans to conduct further tests sequentially in the future.

KT Infrastructure Research Center Director Jeon Hong-beom said, “KT has become the first in Korea to obtain a temporary permit for autonomous bus operation, making research on actual roads possible,” and “Autonomous driving will become safer through communication and convergence, and we will strengthen cooperation with various partners to develop safe autonomous driving technology.”