Motional case study: how to build a robotaxi in less than a year

Robotaxis could revolutionise mobility, particularly in crowded urban areas. However, these are also among the most challenging use cases for a driverless vehicle to operate. Developing a car that can safely navigate this environment is a daunting task, but one that Motional accomplished in less than a year.

Motional, a joint venture between Aptiv and Hyundai, is working with Lyft to deploy a driverless ride-hailing service in the US in 2023. The model that will be put into service is based on the Hyundai Ioniq 5, but unlike the consumer version, this one comes with a hardware suite that makes the human driver redundant. Teams from Motional and Hyundai worked around the clock—and through a pandemic—to perfect this SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle (AV) in record time.