RideFlux, is a South Korea based start-up in autonomous shared mobility. It has been working on autonomous shared mobility with a team of 20+ engineers and software developers. It received initial funding from SoCar, an app-based car rental company.
Rideflux started public transport service about six months ago. Providing autonomous shared mobility for public; commuting customers from the airport on the tourist island of Jeju to the rental company SoCar’s service center.
Rideflux has been using modified Hyundai Ioniq, with cameras and sensors make to make work in AV mode. It is the first autonomous vehicle to go into regular service on public roads in the South Korea.
Founder and CEO Park Jung-hee, who holds a doctorate from MIT in mechanical engineering says, “The five-kilometer (three-mile) route comprises a U-turn, 11 pedestrian crossings, and bustling airport traffic. Which means, the route has potential variables and an optimal environment, to develop and improve AI systems.”
Currently, under South Korean law a safety driver has to sit in the vehicle, to intervene in emergency situation.
“Our aim is to place self-driving cars without safety drivers operating in all parts of Jeju within the next five years,” said Park Jung-hee.
Connected Infrastructure for Autonomous Shared Mobility
South Korea is installing intelligent transport systems on its 5,400 kilometers of motorway, which is expected to be complete by 2024. This will enable communication between vehicles and infrastructure.
