Yandex turns the Hyundai Sonata 2020 into a fully autonomous car

The initial goal of the collaboration was to build an autonomous prototype based on a model of Hyundai or Kia, and as can be seen, that has been achieved.

According to Yandex, the new Hyundai Sonata 2020 was chosen because its platform allows easy integration of autonomous driving technology and hardware with minimal modifications. The Russian team received the first unit of the Hyundai Sonata at the end of May 2019 and began working on the prototype with engineers from Hyundai Mobis.

Initial tests have been carried out on Yandex’s closed test grounds, where the autonomous Sonata has been driving 24/7 in fully autonomous mode. Currently, the Hyundai Sonata with autonomous driving is being tested in a variety of weather conditions and in simulated traffic situations with other self-driving cars on the track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kKME6hRVxIY

Hyundai Sonata autonomous, a work by Yandex

The plan is to begin testing the vehicle on the streets of Moscow “shortly”. The Hyundai Sonata 2020 will be part of Yandex’s autonomous fleet, which is expected to reach 100 vehicles by the end of the year. Thanks to the partnership with Hyundai Mobis, more autonomous models of Hyundai and Kia will join the fleet in the future.

“Our collaboration with Hyundai Mobis is an important element of our expansion strategy, and the new Hyundai Sonata is just the beginning,” Yandex has said. Through collaboration with Hyundai Mobis and other automotive players, the company’s long-term goal is to build “an out-of-the-box autonomous driving solution designed for a wide variety of automotive platforms”.

That is more or less what Waymo is doing with autonomous driving, and it is worth noting that Yandex is the “Google of Russia”. The Russian company’s autonomous car program began in 2017 with the goal of “creating true Level 5 autonomous cars; that is, vehicles that do not require driver intervention in any driving scenario”. Now, in its third year, the autonomous driving team is getting closer to achieving the goal. “In August, the robotaxi service was successfully launched, we expanded testing to Israel, and we demonstrated one of our driverless cars on public roads during CES 2019. As we advance on our journey toward developing cars with advanced autonomous driving, we are pleased to announce our first automotive collaboration.”

In addition to the increased credibility offered by the agreement with Hyundai Mobis, Yandex has already entered the race with the leaders in the field. Therefore, those looking for a decent offer (Uber and Apple) may now be more willing to look beyond Yandex’s Russian roots. Yandex’s autonomous driving has arrived.