LG Uplus and Hanyang successfully trial 5G autonomous car in Seoul

LG Uplus and Hanyang University have successfully trialled their 5G-connected autonomous vehicle, which rode on the streets of Seoul alongside regular cars, the pair have announced.

The 5G autonomous vehicle, dubbed the A1, rode through roads with heavy traffic in Seoul. The A1 drove eight kilometres in the span of 25 minutes.

The car was shown to have changed lanes and reacted to cars cutting through traffic. It also followed the legal speed limits during the trial.

Hanyang University's ACE Lab, which ran the co-project, said A1 was close to performing at the fourth level of SAE Levels of Driving Automation. A vehicle with a level five certification, the highest level, would have full-driving automation capabilities.

The A1 has light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and radar sensors. The LIDAR sensor shoots beams of light that can reportedly measure A1's distance from other objects while the radar sensor uses radio waves.

The car will continue to be upgraded through deep learning technology as it continues to accumulate road information, ACE Lab said.

LG Uplus said 5G's low latency would increase the safety of autonomous cars.

Since December, South Korea has commenced 5G network trials for enterprise.

The 5G network for smartphones was supposed to be rolled out this month, but has faced delays due to production issues from smartphone manufacturers as well as price plan disagreements between government and telcos.

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