US autonomous vehicle start-up Motional has unveiled its first electric robotaxi, based on Hyundai’s new Ioniq 5 EV, which will be used in the company’s fully driverless public ride-hail service due to start in 2023.
The all-electric Ioniq 5 robotaxi is an SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle Motional says can “safely operate without a driver” and will be an important milestone for Motional, and for the autonomous driving sector at large.
Motional expects to begin commercial operations in 2023, after it signed an agreement with ride sharing giant Lyft back in December to begin robotaxi services in several major US cities.
The two companies announced in March that they had chosen the Hyundai Ioniq 5 as the vehicle platform for its robotaxi fleet, while Motional itself would equip the vehicles with Level 4 autonomous driving capabilities – including LiDAR, radar, and cameras providing a full 360-degrees awareness around the vehicle, and able to see up to 300 metres away.
To distinguish it from other cars on the road, the Ioniq 5 robotaxi displays its sensor suite prominently on the exterior of the vehicle, which includes more than 30 sensors, all of which feed into Motional’s driverless technology,.
Safety redundancies back up the Ioniq 5 robotaxi’s autonomous abilities, across every function, such as the navigation, steering, braking, and power.
Motional will also provide Remote Vehicle Assistance (RVA) should the Ioniq 5 robotaxi encounter any unusual road scenario – such as road construction or flooding – at which point a remote Motional operator can instantly connect to the vehicle and drive it to a new path.
“For the Ioniq 5-based robotaxi, we have applied various redundancy systems, in addition to a suite of essential technologies to ensure safety and convenience of the passengers,” said Woongjun Jang, head of the Autonomous Driving Center at Hyundai Motor Group.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.