Hyundai Mobis Steers Toward Redundant Autonomy

South Korea’s Hyundai Mobis Co. is developing an electric power steering system with redundant controls to ensure the safe operation of future self-driving vehicles.

The system uses two independent electronic circuits with their own sensors, motors and electronic control units. To facilitate the duplicate architecture, Hyundai Mobis says it cut the size of many of the devices in half.

If a problem is detected, the system automatically switches to the backup unit. In the event of a total failure, drivers can take control, reduce speed and steer the vehicle to safety at the side of the road, according to the supplier.

Hyundai Mobis expects to complete driving and validation tests of the redundant system by year-end and start mass production in 2020. The company says it also is working with several partners to develop and commercialize other technologies for autonomous driving, including next-generation lidar, radar, cameras and other sensors.