Hyundai Mobis develops autonomous reverse-driving technology
27 November 2017
Tier 1 supplier Hyundai Mobis has developed reverse driving support technology that autonomously steers when a car drives in reverse without the driver having to operate the steering wheel. Though there is already a function called Parking Assist (PA), which autonomously steers a car in reverse parking, this is the first time that a technology has been specifically developed to support reverse driving.
Starting with this technology, Hyundai Mobis plans to secure further autonomous reverse driving tech.
The reverse driving support technology autonomously steers a car when the car goes back to the location from which it came. The method stores the speed and travel paths when a car moves forward and automatically turns the car back by calculating the speed and travel paths in reverse.
Hyundai Mobis expects that this new technology will alleviate the difficulties of reverse driving, which is particularly challenging to inexperienced drivers.
Contrary to the Driving Assistance System (DAS) which directly recognizes external environments through cameras, radars and ultrasonic sensors, Hyundai Mobis’s reverse drive support tech grasps external environments through real-time driving information. Under this method, a steering angle sensor, a wheel sensor and a yaw sensor installed inside a vehicle measure the car’s speed, distance and degree of rotation.
As the whole industry has focused on forward autonomous driving technology, expensive cameras, LiDAR and radar sensors are concentrated at the front of a car. As a result, the back of a car is supported only by a rear camera and ultrasonic sensors that measure short distances, and this makes it difficult to actively recognize external environments.
To solve this challenge, Hyundai Mobis came up with the creative idea of utilizing the existing sensors of a car without having to add expensive sensors, improving both versatility and price competitiveness. Hyundai Mobis filed applications for two domestic patents and one overseas patent on this technology.
The company is now planning to develop a complete reverse driving technology that supports both starting and braking by adding cameras and radar sensors.
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