Gyeonggi Province to Begin Remote-Controlled Vehicle Delivery and Retrieval Pilot Program in Pangyo from Late September
Gyeonggi Province will launch the first domestic service in Korea that remotely delivers shared vehicles to reserved users at their desired locations and retrieves them after use.
Starting from late September, Gyeonggi Province announced on the 26th that it will conduct pilot testing of the 'urban shared vehicle delivery and retrieval remote driving service' in Pangyo Techno Valley 1st and 2nd complexes and the Pangyo Station area. The province will validate the technology's safety and service feasibility in actual urban environments over three months until the end of December.
Remote driving is a technology where a driver does not board the vehicle, but a remote operator at a separate station drives the vehicle by viewing real-time driving footage. Steering, acceleration, and braking commands are transmitted to the vehicle through existing 4G and 5G communication networks, while the vehicle transmits driving footage and vehicle status information in real-time. Unlike fully autonomous driving, it can utilize existing communication networks and mass-produced vehicles, offering the advantage of faster service implementation at relatively lower costs.
This pilot program is being implemented through the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport's Mobility Regulatory Sandbox, which granted a special exception for remote driving demonstration. Gyeonggi Province expects this pilot to develop remote driving from a simple vehicle control technology into a new mobility service. The province plans to explore diverse applications in private and public services, including shared vehicle delivery and retrieval, logistics, and transportation support for mobility-disadvantaged groups. In particular, even after full autonomous vehicle commercialization, it is expected to be utilized as a complementary technology for emergency remote support and vehicle movement within restricted areas.
The service operates in the sequence of 'reservation and payment → remote delivery → user direct operation → remote retrieval.' When employees of companies located in Pangyo Techno Valley reserve vehicles through a dedicated app, a remote operator moves the vehicle to the designated location. Users then take possession of the vehicle, drive it themselves, and only need to report its return at their destination.
Vehicles reported as returned are retrieved to the depot through remote driving. Pickup and return are possible anywhere within Pangyo Techno Valley.
The province is dividing the pilot into two phases to sufficiently verify safety. During the beta service period from late September to October, a safety driver will be aboard the vehicle, and the service will be provided to employees of companies located in the Gyeonggi Business Growth Center. From November to December, the province plans to expand service availability to employees of all companies in Pangyo Techno Valley 2nd complex, with the goal of operating without an onboard safety driver.
Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Provincial Council's Future Science Cooperation Committee will visit Seoul National University's Siheung Campus Future Mobility Technology Center on the 28th to directly demonstrate and inspect remote driving technology, and confirm safety measures and pilot plans ahead of the project implementation.