Development of a public transportation system linked to on-site infrastructure through real-time communication.

A pilot study is underway to develop autonomous buses and trucks and introduce them into transportation services such as public transportation and logistics.

On the 25th (Friday), the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport will hold a commencement report meeting for the research and development projects, “Verification Study on Autonomous Driving-Based Public Transportation System” and “Development of Truck Platoon Driving Operation Technology Based on Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) Communication” at the El Tower.

There is a need to quickly introduce autonomous driving technology to public transportation (buses) and logistics (trucks) that we encounter in our daily lives. However, until now, the development of autonomous vehicle technology in our country has been focused on personal passenger cars, and the development of buses and trucks is just beginning.

Accordingly, the government will play a leading role in promoting the technological development of autonomous buses and trucks and promote research and development to introduce them into transportation services.

The first research and development project, "Verification Study on Autonomous Driving-Based Public Transportation Systems," focuses on developing autonomous buses and control systems, and verifying them on actual roads.

We will develop a small/medium-large autonomous bus that can recognize traffic lights, crosswalks, and pedestrians and ensure safe boarding and alighting. We will also develop a public transportation system that can generate optimal driving routes based on passenger calls and congestion levels by linking with on-site infrastructure through real-time communication.

This year, the autonomous driving bus and system will be designed and tested, with two small buses initially manufactured next year. This will be gradually expanded to include at least eight small, medium, and large-sized autonomous buses in test runs by 2021.

The second research and development project, 'Development of Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)-based Truck Platooning Operation Technology', focuses on developing a system in which multiple trucks can operate autonomously in a group and verifying it on actual roads.

We are developing an autonomous platoon truck that can recognize and share information about surrounding vehicles and obstacles through real-time communication, maintain formation, and safely join/leave vehicles, and a control system to manage it.

This year, we will design autonomous and platoon-driving trucks and systems, and next year, we will manufacture two trucks and begin test runs. This will be expanded in stages, with plans to conduct test runs of four or more trucks by 2021.
Lee Jae-pyeong, head of the Advanced Automotive Technology Division at the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, said, “We expect that this research and development will lead to new transportation systems, such as autonomous public transportation and logistics,” adding, “In particular, we will prepare relevant systems without a hitch so that the research and development results created through the collaboration of industry, academia and research institutes can be applied in actual fields.”