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Samsung may soon achieve Level 4 autonomous driving. The company has reportedly completed a test run of its self-driving system, covering 200km from Suwon to Gangneung in South Korea without any human driver intervention. Its research and development (R&D) arm SAIT (Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology) developed the autonomous driving software and algorithm that powered this test vehicle. The Korean conglomerate used a market-ready car in conjunction with necessary technologies from other companies.
Samsung gets closer to achieving Level 4 autonomous driving
Level 4 autonomous driving (High Driving Automation) is the penultimate level of vehicle autonomy, which includes six levels in total (0-5, with Level 0 offering no automation). As Synopsys explains, these vehicles “can intervene if things go wrong or there is a system failure”. They usually do not require human interaction to drive in most circumstances. However, a human driver can always manually override the system. This is to ensure proper handling of emergencies and extreme weather conditions.
Google-owned autonomous driving technology company Waymo is already running a Level 4 self-driving taxi service in Phoenix, Arizona. While these vehicles can operate in self-driving mode, there are certain limitations. They must not cross a preset top speed limit and aren’t only allowed to go outside a designated area. Level 5 autonomous driving (Full Driving Automation), which doesn’t require a human driver at all, is undergoing testing but is not yet available to the general public. Level 3 (Conditional Driving Automation), meanwhile, is already in the commercialization stage.
Samsung has been working on advanced self-driving technology for some time now. While it doesn’t plan to enter the automotive business itself, at least not just yet, the company aims to create a complete autonomous driving system for other manufacturers. The Korean conglomerate already makes semiconductors, displays, and other sensors for self-driving cars. The idea is to combine technologies from subsidiaries such as Harman and the DS division to give its automotive customers a reliable “brain” for their cars of the future.
The years of work are now bearing fruit for Samsung. According to the Korean media, the autonomous driving software and algorithm developed by SAIT can already detect a ramp and adjust driving automatically. It can also recognize special-purpose vehicles and automatically change lanes when required. With these accomplishments, Samsung has essentially secured the prerequisite technologies for Level 4 autonomous driving. Time will tell what’s next for the company in the field of autonomous driving.