In this blog post, we’ll examine the current state of autonomous vehicle technology, the social challenges it presents, and how prepared we are for the future.
Autonomous vehicles, or self-driving cars, are vehicles that navigate to their destination on their own without direct human intervention. Since the vehicle recognizes and assesses road conditions to determine its route without driver input, passengers are completely freed from driving and can enjoy more leisure time inside the vehicle. Beyond simply offering convenience, this technology is gaining attention as a core element of future mobility due to its potential to dramatically improve traffic efficiency and reduce the incidence of traffic accidents.
Of course, there are also various concerns surrounding autonomous driving technology. For example, the risk of system breaches through hacking and the legal uncertainty regarding who should be held liable in the event of an accident remain challenges that need to be addressed. However, autonomous vehicle technology is rapidly entering the commercialization phase, driven by rapid advancements in cutting-edge engineering fields such as artificial intelligence, computer vision, electronic control, and sensor fusion. Autonomous test drives are underway across Europe, Asia, and North America, and pilot autonomous driving services have begun operating even in complex urban environments. The era of autonomous driving is no longer a distant future but a reality that is fast approaching.
Although the history of autonomous vehicle development is relatively short, its pace has been astonishingly rapid. In the late 1980s, researchers at the University of Munich in Germany successfully conducted experiments with unmanned vehicles capable of traveling at speeds of up to 100 km/h. Subsequently, the European Union laid the groundwork for autonomous driving technology through the “Eureka Prometheus Project” from 1987 to 1995. At that time, autonomous driving was attempted in relatively structured environments such as highways, but with the integration of various technologies, it has since evolved to a level capable of navigating complex urban environments. In 2010, a vehicle successfully completed an autonomous drive of approximately 13,000 km from Italy to Shanghai, China, and recently, autonomous driving has been successfully achieved even in the heart of cities, where there are many pedestrians, bicycles, traffic lights, and unpredictable variables.
For autonomous vehicles to drive safely, technology that accurately perceives the vehicle’s surroundings, makes judgments based on that perception, and takes appropriate actions is essential. To achieve this, various advanced sensors are used, including LiDAR, radar, ultrasonic sensors, and high-resolution cameras. These sensors monitor the vehicle’s 360-degree environment in real time, helping to identify the distance, speed, and direction of vehicles and pedestrians, as well as obstacles, to predict and avoid dangerous situations. In particular, urban driving requires the recognition of various visual information such as road signs, traffic lights, lanes, and crosswalks, necessitating the combined use of advanced computer vision technology and AI-based image processing.
In addition, it is crucial for the vehicle to accurately determine its location. Since standard GPS alone can result in errors of several meters, autonomous vehicles use centimeter-level precise positioning technologies (such as RTK-GPS) in conjunction with high-definition maps (HD Maps). Furthermore, “V2X (Vehicle to Everything)” communication technologies—including vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), and vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P) communication—are also being actively researched. Through these technologies, autonomous vehicles can receive advance information on various traffic conditions—such as intersections, construction zones, and traffic signal changes—enabling them to make safer decisions.
One of the companies widely regarded as a leader in autonomous driving technology is Waymo, a subsidiary of Google. After winning the 2005 DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) autonomous driving competition led by Professor Sebastian Thrun’s team at Stanford University, Waymo partnered with Google to fully commit to the development of autonomous vehicles. Waymo has rapidly improved the vehicle’s perception and autonomous decision-making capabilities by integrating various Google technologies, including mapping, big data, and Street View. In 2010, it completed a 224,000-kilometer autonomous drive from San Francisco to Los Angeles, and in 2023, it successfully launched a fully autonomous taxi service in cities such as San Francisco and Phoenix, California. Currently, autonomous driving tests are actively underway in several U.S. states as well as major cities in the UK, Germany, and Japan.
One interesting autonomous driving technology is “platooning,” which is being developed by Volvo in Sweden. In this system, a professional driver operates only the lead vehicle, while the following vehicles automatically follow at a set distance from the car in front. Vehicles in this platoon can join or leave at any time, and the platooned vehicles offer significant advantages in terms of fuel efficiency, reduced air resistance, and road safety. In the commercial vehicle and logistics sectors, platooning is already being piloted on certain routes, primarily in Europe.
Autonomous driving technology development is also actively underway in South Korea. The Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has developed and tested the autonomous electric vehicle “ESTRO,” and leading domestic universities such as the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Kookmin University, and Hanyang University are also actively participating in autonomous driving research. Hyundai Motor Group began developing autonomous vehicles in the early 2010s, applying various technologies such as lane keeping, automatic braking, navigating narrow roads, and obstacle avoidance, and in 2023, it unveiled a mass-produced vehicle equipped with Level 3 autonomous driving capabilities. The government is also piloting autonomous shuttle and robotaxi services starting in 2024, primarily in Sejong, Pangyo, Sangam-dong in Seoul, and Daejeon, while simultaneously revising relevant laws and regulations.
However, the widespread adoption of autonomous driving cannot be achieved through technological perfection alone. There are still legal and social challenges that need to be addressed. A prime example is the issue of liability in the event of an accident. When an accident occurs without a human driver, clear criteria are needed to determine whether liability lies with the manufacturer, the software developer, or the passenger. Furthermore, security threats arising from external hacking cannot be overlooked. Resistance from existing stakeholders—such as the transportation industry, insurance companies, and the maintenance sector—is another area requiring social consensus.
Nevertheless, the changes brought about by autonomous vehicles have far more positive aspects. In addition to reducing driver fatigue, alleviating traffic congestion, and improving safety, various benefits are expected, such as providing freedom of mobility to those who find driving difficult, including the elderly and people with disabilities. From an environmental perspective, efficient driving routes and energy management will become possible, contributing to a reduction in carbon emissions.
Although autonomous vehicles are not yet a fully mature technology that has solved all problems, they are evolving rapidly and will soon become a full-fledged part of our daily lives. At this turning point, we must move beyond vague expectations and concerns about the technology and work together to prepare socially and ethically. The day when a world where “cars take you to your destination on their own”—something that once seemed possible only in movies—becomes a reality is not far off. As autonomous driving technology matures, we will enter an era of safer, more convenient, and more sustainable mobility.
