GENEVA MOTOR SHOW: Kia's autonomous sub-brand on show

Kia is ramping up its DRIVE WISE sub-brand to deliver semi-autonomous tech by 2020… and full-autonomous motoring ten years later.

The Korean manufacturer used its presence at the Geneva Motor Show to demonstrate the latest advancements in DRIVE WISE technology. The sub-brand will also encompass the brand’s ‘latest and forthcoming’ Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

Geneva show visitors are able to preview Kia’s latest developments in autonomous driving and assistance technologies.

“Kia is undergoing a very promising and gradual process of introducing partially and fully autonomous technologies to its vehicles,” said Tae-Won Lim, Senior Vice-President, Central Advanced Research and Engineering Institute of Hyundai Motor Corp.

“Although the first marketable fully-autonomous car from Kia will not be available in the immediate future, the work our R&D teams are currently doing to develop our range of DRIVE WISE technologies is already improving on-road safety and driver assistance. The innovations presented at this year’s show demonstrate the future direction we are taking.”

The main driver behind DRIVE WISE is Kia’s ‘vehicle-to-everything’ (V2X) communications system. ‘For Kia to advance its partially-autonomous ADAS technologies far enough to bring the true self-driving car to market by 2030, V2X must be fully-integrated into real-life driving environments and be able to react as a human driver can,’ says the brand’s press release.

V2X uses a series of sensors, radar, LiDAR (a light direction and ranging radar) and external cameras to assess the environment and detect potential hazards. It also incorporates vehicle to vehicle and vehicle to infrastructure technologies.

Kia’s 2020 semi-autonomous vehicle aim will build on current-generation driver assist systems as well as next-gen tech. Currently under development, Kia is building expertise in anticipatory and reactionary systems that will respond to ‘changing road conditions and potential hazards to improve safety for all road users’.

Systems include:
>> Highway Autonomous Driving, which uses a combination of radar and camera detection to interpret lane markings.

>> Urban Autonomous Driving, which uses GPS and sensors to locate the car’s position and allow it to safely navigate city traffic and adjust to real-time traffic information.

>> Preceding Vehicle Following, an advanced lane-keeping system that monitors the vehicle ahead and follows it at a safe distance if road markings are indecipherable.

>> Emergency Stop System, which works with Kia’s Driver Status Monitoring to ensure the driver’s attention remains on the road. This system can manoeuvre the vehicle to a safe stopping point if the driver’s eyes aren’t on the road for a determined time period.

>> Traffic Jam Assist, which allows the car to maintain a safe distance from those in front in congestion. It can also move the car into different gaps to gain ground.

>>Autonomous Valet Parking, which allows occupants to exit the car and let it park
autonomously and remotely. It can be activated via the smart vehicle key or a smart watch.

DRIVE WISE will additionally provide improved communication between vehicle and driver by employing the latest Human Machine Interface (HMI) functions including gesture control, fingerprint sensors that recognise driver preferences and smart-device connectivity.

Kia has recently been granted a licence to test DRIVE WISE on public roads, in the state of Nevada in the United States of America. It uses an all-electric Soul EV as the test bed.

Kia’s ‘preliminary’ investment in autonomous tech is expected to hit the US$2 billion (approximately AU$2.8 billion) mark by 2018.