One year of Robotaxi operation by Hyundai in Las Vegas: not a single accident caused by it

For a year now, residents and visitors of Las Vegas have had the option of hailing a taxi with self-driving technology to get around the city. Users can request this vehicle for their trip through several taxi and Uber apps, so it is within reach of anyone. The results have been very positive, and Hyundai and Motional, the operators of the service, are ready to move on to the next stage of testing.

The Robotaxis in Las Vegas have completed around 125,000 trips autonomously, which amounts to roughly two million kilometers. For now, however, a person sits in the driver’s seat, ready to respond to any problem that may arise and to keep control at all times.

According to the operators’ information, however, the driver has practically never needed to make any corrections or avoid risky situations. The self-driving system has been as efficient as expected and has learned with every trip, adjusting its driving to the city’s traffic conditions.

The experience also seems to be quite satisfactory, since users are rating the trips made by these automated vehicles highly. 90% of users give the service five stars.

After several months in operation, the autonomous Hyundai models offering this self-driving taxi service have also begun running at night. And although this might seem to pose a greater challenge for the service, no problems different from those that can arise during the day have been detected.

The Hyundai robotaxis are designed to learn from every trip, so after a year, the errors and minor accidents that occurred at the beginning have been ironed out, and autonomous driving is becoming increasingly precise and well calibrated. The operating company does assure, however, that the accidents were not caused by the robotaxis but by other traffic circumstances.

Service without a control driver

2023 will bring a new development to this service in Las Vegas. The control driver in each of the vehicles will disappear and will be replaced by a remote driving system. The vehicle will operate autonomously, but there will be an operator at a facility where all robotaxi information is centralized. Thus, if the Robotaxi encounters a situation it cannot get out of, the remote controller will take over the car and drive it to its destination or to a place where it can be safely parked, with no risk to passengers.

A battery of sensors and cameras

The Hyundai IONIQ 5 used for this service has 30 sensors, including high-definition cameras, radars and LiDAR, which allow it to be aware of everything happening around the car. It has Level 4 autonomous driving, so it is fully capable of providing this service very efficiently.

Using this vehicle in trials to cover the taxi service allows considerable progress in developing this technology. Fully autonomous driving remains a distant goal, but these efforts are helping driver assistance systems (ADAS) advance to increase traffic safety.

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverHyundai IONIQ 58 versions · from 44,670 €