Kia details its autonomous car plan

Korean car-maker Kia recently committed to releasing its autonomous cars by 2030 and now it has launched a 'Drive Wise' sub-brand encompassing all of its future Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

Kia's new self-driving vehicle brand was unveiled overnight at the world's largest technology exhibition – the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.

Although some car-makers have promised fully autonomous production cars sooner, many have not committed to them at all. Although 2030 is still 15 years away it's a bold move by Kia that shows an increasing confidence within the industry.

Autonomous cars are real. They're in operation today, zipping around parts of Europe and the USA in prototype form. Kia is gearing up for its own testing on public roads in Nevada, and will sink $US2 billion into research and development over the next three years.

Kia expects its Drive Wise tech to begin making an impact globally from 2020, with what it calls partially-autonomous cars, the end game being improved safety for motorists.

Some of the key technologies we can expect to see in Kia passenger cars over the next five years include:

>> Highway Autonomous Driving (HAD) – accelerate, brake, change lanes, exit freeway, etc
>> Urban Autonomous Driving (UAD) – accelerate, brake, use GPS and sensors navigate densely-congested city environments and respond to live traffic updates
>> Preceding Vehicle Following (PVF) – enhanced lane-keeping system that monitors the vehicle in front and reacts accordingly
>> Traffic Jam Assist (TJA) – accelerate, brake, change lanes at slow-speeds move into appropriate spaces to gain ground
>> Autonomous Valet Parking – drivers can exit the car and let the vehicle park itself remotely, activated using the smart key or a smartwatch

Many of these systems are already offered in vehicles today, for instance BMW's new 7 Series can park itself after the driver gets out and it also has a semi-autonomous traffic jam assistant. But the BMW is a $200,000-plus car and Kia hopes to have these features available in $30,000 cars.

As the likes of Audi, BMW and Volvo vie for the "world's first autonomous car" crown over the next few years, Kia's 2030 prediction for a fully autonomous production car appear more realistic.

"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 of Hyundai Motor Group (Kia's parent company) Central Advanced Research and Engineering Institute.

"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."

Unsurprisingly, the company insists that car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communication will be crucial for fine-tuning self-driving vehicles.

Kia also showed off some cool interfacing advances that could be deployed inside its cars in future, via its 'I-Cockpit' display. It showcases fingerprint sensors, advanced smart-device connectivity and gesture control.

So when can we expect to see this technology in Australia? It's unknown at this point as the technology is still a long way off, but Kia's local arm says it will be assessed for the Australian market as the tech rolls out – assuming the legal framework exists.