Hyundai's fuel cell cars set a record for longest trip at highways speeds.
One thing that has been up for debate in the world of self-driving electric vehicles is fuel range. How long and far can a self-driving car at highways speeds go before it needs to re-plug? Will there be enough resources (i.e. plug-in fueling stations) to accommodate potential growth in electric cars?
Hyundai is doing its best to answer those questions with its Level 4 autonomous hydrogen fuel cars.
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Just recently the Korean car company fueled up a small fleet of these not-so exclusively electric cars, and let them loose on a 118-mile highway drive from Seoul to Pyeongchang. According to engadget.com, that stretch of driving is the longest trek a self-driving car has traveled at highway speeds (around 62-68 mph), basically obliterating past test drives of smaller spurts and slower speeds.
The group of Hyundai self-driving cars featured, including the new Nexo SUV's and the Genesis G80 sedans, also touted their tech-friendly sensibilities. Features like chat bots, streaming media, smart home controls, and video calls were all executed to simulate the future of self-driving cars, which are being developed as living rooms on wheels.
So when will these Level 4 cars hit American roads? Hyundai is aiming a 2021 release for partially-autonomous cars, and a 2030 target for its fully self-driving, mostly pure electric cars of tomorrow. What the company will be focusing on in the years to come is capitalizing on the success of the 118-mile test.
Engineers want to continue to work on the 5G networks within Hyundai self-driving cars' infotainment systems, ensuring consistency in experience throughout all their vehicles.
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