Korean Self-Driving Car Starts Trial Deliveries in U.S.
04 December, 2018
A self-driving car developed in Korea began delivering products in Silicon Valley in California on Oct. 29.
The car, called SNUver, began a trial service delivering products for Ace Hardware, which operates 500 hardware stores.
Seo Seung-woo, the lead developer at Seoul National University, after which the car is named, and his students launched a start-up called ThorDrive in 2015.
Seo Seung-woo and a student pose for a photo in front of a self-driving car in Palo Alto, California.
ThorDrive originally aimed to develop self-driving cars for Korean road conditions. "We agreed to go beyond the laboratory and develop self-driving cars that can actually carry people on the roads," Seo said.
SNUver traveled more than 60,000 km over a three-year period without a single accident. But regulatory constraints forced Seo and his students to postpone their plans.
"Investors shunned us when they saw how red tape prevents new services such as carpooling and Uber from being launched in Korea," he said.
Self-driving cars are parked in front of an Ace Hardware store in Palo Alto, California.
Instead, ThorDrive moved to the U.S. last year and found investors as well as a path to commercialization.
ThorDrive plans to join hands with large retailers in Korea and start self-driven delivery services in June 2019. "Discussions are under way, but there are still many regulatory hurdles we need to overcome before commercialization," Seo added.