RideFlux Launches Fully Unmanned Autonomous Driving with No One in the Driver's Seat

Obtained Temporary Operation Permit for Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle with Maximum Speed of 50 km/h
Scheduled Gradual Test Drive of 5-Seater Passenger Car in Sangam, Seoul

Deep-tech startup RideFlux announced on the 12th that it has received temporary operation approval for a 'driverless autonomous vehicle' without a safety operator in the driver's seat.

RideFlux passed the driverless autonomous driving performance evaluation last December at the autonomous driving test city (K-City) located in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, and after additional reviews including a safety operation plan this year, it received driverless test operation approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport. To obtain driverless approval, a high level of technical stability and reliability is required, including responses to surrounding vehicles and pedestrians, external collisions and communication failures, and vehicle system malfunctions.

RideFlux Unmanned Autonomous Vehicle

In order to promote driverless autonomous vehicle test operations, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport revised related approval regulations in March 2021. Through these regulations, RideFlux is the first to receive autonomous driving approval to conduct test operations in a 'Driverless' state without a person in the driver's seat at speeds exceeding 10 km/h. In the United States, Google Waymo started a fully driverless autonomous public service in October 2020 in the Phoenix area of Arizona and is currently expanding driverless operations nationwide to cities such as San Francisco and LA.

RideFlux plans to start driverless test operations this year in Sangam, Seoul, with a 5-passenger passenger car after completing additional internal safety verifications. The operation route is a 3.2 km loop within the Sangam autonomous driving pilot operation district, including pedestrian crosswalk intersections and non-signal roundabouts. To prioritize the safety of road users such as surrounding vehicles and pedestrians, the test operation will be conducted gradually, avoiding congested commuting hours in the early stages.

Park Jung-hee, CEO of RideFlux, said, “With the acquisition of driverless approval, we will demonstrate global-level software technology capabilities and lead the commercialization of driverless autonomous driving in the domestic market. Since the safety of road users such as surrounding vehicles and pedestrians is of utmost importance, we will do our best to secure technological and operational stability.”