Hyundai Wia to test parking robots in residential area of Seoul

Hyundai Wia, the automotive parts and machinery subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group, announced plans to commence testing autonomous parking robots in a residential apartment complex located in Seoul. This marks the first instance of such technology deployment within Korea. The consortium, comprising Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Engineering & Construction, will oversee the trial at the Hillstate The Wave City complex situated in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.

The initiative is under the purview of a regulatory sandbox program established by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport.

The company has prepared two sets of these robots, each capable of operating within 53 designated parking spaces. The primary objective of the trial is to assess the robots' operational stability, space efficiency, and overall convenience for residents. These robots, measuring just 110 millimeters in thickness, are designed to slide beneath parked vehicles, lift their wheels, and transport them autonomously at a pace of up to 1.2 meters per second. Equipped with LiDAR sensors, the robots are equipped to handle SUVs weighing up to 3.4 tons.

The functionality of the system is straightforward. Once a resident leaves their vehicle in a drop-off zone, the robots will autonomously relocate it to an available parking space. If a resident requests it, the robots can also retrieve their vehicle and transport it back to the designated pickup area. The entire process is made accessible through wall-mounted smart home pads installed in each apartment, enabling residents to summon their vehicles with a simple touch.