Kia signs multilateral MOU to commercialize remote driving technology

Kia is teaming up with KT Corp and SUM to commercialize remote driving services. Having become the first company in South Korea to successfully demonstrate remote driving on public roads last year, Kia plans to accelerate the effort with a goal of launching a remote driving service using its purpose-built vehicle model, the PV5, before the end of this year.

Kia held a signing ceremony Thursday at its headquarters in Yangjae-dong, Seoul, with Kang Ju-yeop, senior vice president of Kia's new business planning division, Seo Sang-gyu, senior vice president of KT Corp's corporate business division 1, and Hyeon Yeong-jin, CEO of SUM, among the key officials in attendance, formalizing an MOU with KT Corp and SUM to advance the commercialization of remote driving technology.

The MOU follows Kia's successful demonstration of remote driving on public roads in November last year — the first of its kind in South Korea — using the PV5, its first dedicated purpose-built vehicle model. The agreement marks the start of a full-scale push to bring remote driving services to market.

Remote driving allows an external control center to remotely operate and control a driverless vehicle via 4G and 5G wireless networks. It improves user mobility and serves as an alternative technology to ensure safe travel when an autonomous driving vehicle experiences a malfunction or anomaly.

For example, a vehicle can be dispatched to a user's doorstep when needed and moved to a separate location after the passenger alights, helping ease parking congestion in urban areas. The technology can also deploy vehicles as mobile unmanned convenience stores or libraries in areas with limited lifestyle infrastructure.

Kia, KT Corp and SUM will work together toward launching a PV5-based remote driving service this year. Under the arrangement, Kia will handle vehicle and technology development, KT Corp will manage communications infrastructure and network quality, and SUM will oversee remote driving technology and control systems.

The three companies also plan to use data gathered during remote driving service operations to advance autonomous driving technology and continue cooperating to build an unmanned mobility ecosystem. They will also jointly promote the remote driving service, identify use cases and support innovation in remote driving technology, and work to establish the legal and regulatory framework needed to expand the technology and build a commercial foundation.

"The goal of this MOU is to lay a foundation for cooperation that can accelerate the commercialization of remote driving technology," Kang said. "Through a roadmap that leads from remote driving to autonomous driving, we will build an unmanned vehicle ecosystem and add differentiated value unique to Kia's PBV lineup."

Meanwhile, Kia recently signed an MOU with Kakao Mobility at its Yangjae-dong headquarters for the development of a PBV dedicated to autonomous driving services. That agreement combines Kia's PBV development capabilities with Kakao Mobility's autonomous driving technology to further expand the PBV-based autonomous driving ecosystem, with the two companies planning to cooperate on the development and supply of a PBV dedicated to autonomous driving services, as well as the joint development and demonstration of service operation technology.