Telecom giant KT allowed to make first road test of autonomous bus

By Park Sae-jin Posted : September 22, 2017, 13:57 Updated : September 22, 2017, 14:42

[Courtesy of KT]


As tech companies and researchers compete to secure advanced autonomous vehicle technology at home and abroad, South Korea's largest telecom company, KT, secured temporary government approval to test-drive its autonomous bus on public roads for the first time.

"We are the first to be approved by the transport ministry to test our bus on public roads," KT said in a statement. The test will begin this month at an unspecified location.

Unlike autonomous sedans and SUVs, autonomous buses must be approached with a totally different angle due to their size, KT said. Foreign carmakers such as Mercedes Benz and Scania are the leaders in developing self-driving buses and trucks. 

KT's self-driving bus was installed with LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), a real-time detecting platform using laser and delicate location sensors using the company's mobile communication network. It is in the process of verifying the bus' ability on expressways. 

In March, KT tested its autonomous bus and a parcel-delivering drone which would make their combined debut during next year's Winter Olympic in the eastern ski resort of Pyeongchang. The bus was designed to roam about the ski resort unmanned.
 
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