South Korea’s Hyundai Motor Group joined the global race towards getting driverless cars on public roads by embarking on the development of the core operating system (OS) to run a fully autonomous vehicle. It aims to install its self-developed piloting software in new car models from 2020.

Hyundai Motor Co. and its sister company Kia Motors Corp., on Monday unveiled its outline on “Connected Car Operating System (ccOS).” A connected car refers to a car equipped with Internet access which enables data transfer with other devices both inside as well as outside the vehicle to give the driver remote access to the car.

As computers, an automated car would require separate operating platform.

The group set up a unit dedicated to developing vehicle OS at its research center at Namyang, Gyeonggi Province in June. The team is also working on a prototype ahead of commercialization.

Hyundai Motor and Kia Motors’ ccOS would incorporate open source software including an open In-vehicle Infotainment (IVI) platform of the GENIVI Alliance - a nonprofit industry alliance committed to driving the broad adoption of open source, IVI software and providing open technology for the connected car.

IVI is a system that delivers entertainment and information to drivers and passengers in automobiles. IVI systems use complex software to perform many of the same features found on smartphones through in-car audio/video interfaces including those controlled by touch or by voice.

The Korean group has linked up with Cisco Systems Inc., California-based leading information technology (IT) and networking equipment supplier, since April to develop connected car system. The two agreed to co-develop connected cars, via in-vehicle network technology that optimizes transferring bigger volume of data at a faster pace.

Global market researcher BI Intelligence predicts about 69 million cars, or 75 percent of 92 million vehicles rolling out of factories worldwide, will be running on wireless Internet technology and electronics by 2020.

By Lee Seung-hoon

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