5 November 2021 | THE city of Gunsan held a groundbreaking ceremony to mark the beginning of construction of a test bed for autonomous platooning of commercial vehicles in Bieungdo-dong. The test bed is a facility that supports high-speed self-driving testing and verification and is expected to lead the future automobile industry such as eco-friendly and self-driving cars.
More than 70 people attended the event, including Park Jae-young, Minister of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Song Ha-jin, Governor of Jeollabuk-do Province; Kang Im-jun, Mayor of Gunsan; and member of congress, lawmakers, provincial councilors, related organisations, stakeholders, and local companies.
The test bed base project for self-driving commercial vehicles provided at the Saemangeum Seawall’s lower road and Saemangeum Driving Test Center in Gunsan is implemented by the Jeonbuk Institutes of Automotive Convergence Technology with 20 billion KRW funding from 2020 to 2021.
The Saemangeum Autonomous Vehicle Self-Crowded Test Bed Construction Project aims to secure a foundation for supporting companies such as three types of demonstration equipment, test and evaluation laws, and international standards, including the longest 21 km driving route and curves in Saemangeum, the centre of the domestic commercial vehicle industry.
It is also expected to create a demonstration complex for autonomous driving of domestic commercial vehicles along with the Saemangeum Driving Test Centre, which was completed in Okgu-eup, Gunsan-si in April 2019, to promote early commercialisation of domestic autonomous driving technology and secure competitiveness.
The city, along with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Jeollabuk-do, plans to complete a test bed for autonomous driving of commercial vehicles in Saemangeum in June next year.
