Hanwha Aerospace, KAIST to jointly develop off-road self-driving techs

South Korea's Hanwha Aerospace Co. and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have launched a joint project to develop off-road autonomous driving technology for military applications.

This strategic initiative aims to proactively cultivate unmanned technology and in-house experts in the defense field, responding to future environmental changes that necessitate innovative technologies due to the reduction in combat personnel.

Hanwha Aerospace announced on Friday that it inaugurated the "Autonomy Hub," an autonomous driving technology research center, at KAIST in Daejeon. 

The primary objective of the Autonomy Hub is to develop the world's leading self-driving technology so that military unmanned vehicles can reach their target locations by securing optimal routes in rough environments without prior information.

To achieve this goal, the project will focus on various tasks, including recognizing the surrounding environment in rugged terrain, creating routes based on terrain information, and countering jamming that disturbs radio waves. Additionally, the initiative aims to foster exceptional research personnel.

Hanwha Aerospace has already developed a multi-purpose unmanned vehicle named "Arion-SMET," which employs manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T) technology and has amassed military autonomous driving data.

KAIST, noted for its research prowess in robotics and computer vision, will play a crucial role in the Autonomy Hub. Professor Myeong Hyun, a key participant in the project, gained significant acclaim by clinching victory in the Quadruped Robot Challenge (QRC) at the 2023 International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA) in early June this year, where he surpassed competitors from MIT and other distinguished institutions.

Write to Hyung-Kyu Kim at khk@hankyung.com