Samsung Self-Driving Car: Company Begins Testing Autonomous Tech in South Korea
Samsung recently received permission from the South Korean land ministry to start testing its self-driving car on actual roads. With that, the tech giant now joins the competitive and ever-growing autonomous vehicle race.
On Monday, May 1, the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport issued a permit that allows the pilot run of a modified Hyundai vehicle equipped with Samsung-made sensors and cameras that are backed by artificial intelligence software. These components, in turn, will gain information about autonomous driving, especially during adverse weather conditions.
As news about Samsung's self-driving car gained traction, the company was quick to clarify that they are not entering the automotive industry. Instead, Samsung will be focusing on the development of "deep learning algorithms for autonomous operations," according to Reuters.
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"The test run approval does not mean that Samsung is making a self-driving car. The pilot run is being carried out for software and solution development for an autonomous car, nothing more," a Samsung official told The Korea Herald.
It can be recalled that in 1994, the company established its own car manufacturing business, Samsung Motors, but by 2000, it had gone bankrupt due to the Asian financial crisis. The business was then sold to Renault, and it now operates in South Korea as Renault Samsung Motors.
Since then, Samsung has said that it would not reenter the automotive industry. However, the rising prominence of autonomous vehicles and technology seems to have urged the company to start developing its own self-driving car technology.
In November 2016, Samsung acquired automotive components supplier Harman for $8 billion. There are also reports suggesting that Samsung is planning to acquire Magneti Marelli, another manufacturer of high-tech components for vehicles.
Given this development, it appears that Samsung will be following the same strategy as Google's Waymo and several other companies, in that they are focusing on autonomous vehicle technology that can be licensed to different automakers later on.
