While robotaxis and autonomous vehicles have come under intense scrutiny in recent months, development, nonetheless, continues.
And having these automated vehicles accomplish similar tasks humans are required to do is one of these developments as Hyundai Motor Company’s Motional division completed a driving test in the state of Nevada.
With a Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) agent on board, the Ioniq 5 robotaxi traversed obstacles, navigated around Las Vegas and followed the directions of the agent through the highly populated Strip area of the city.
It became the first autonomous vehicle to pass a driving test.
The goal, according to Hyundai’s Motional, is to build trust with the public. To create a robotaxi that can be safe but provide operation to the public without any need for human drivers.
The goal to improve trust with the public comes after General Motors cut its funding for Cruise Automation by about $1 billion after the company had an accident. Motional has had troubles of its own as well as Aptiv reduced its stake in the autonomous division after incurring millions in losses related to its investment.
These problems, along with other issues with automated driving, continue to plague consumer confidence. AAA recently reported that American fears over autonomous vehicles have not decreased but interest in ADAS-based technologies is growing.
