The driverless car race is getting even more crowded as Samsung has received the green light to start testing a self-driving vehicle in South Korea.
According to CNNtech, the tech company will be testing a car fitted with sensors and cameras, referring to South Korea government statement on Monday.
The Samsung self-driving car, as reported, will use artificial intelligence to study how the vehicle deals with bad weather and obstacles.
South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has previously granted approval to carmakers like Hyundai and Kia as well as academic and research institutions but Samsung is the first electronics company to receive the government approval to test a driverless car on South Korean roads.
Driverless car technology is already a crowded field. It includes big tech firms such as Google, Apple and Baidu, traditional car makers like GM and Ford, and ride-hailing startups Uber and Didi.
“The car has become the next big ‘mobile device’, where the tech industry now sees… opportunities,” CNNtech quotes Robin Zhu, a Hong Kong-based analyst with Bernstein, as saying.
“Many companies are investing because everyone else is doing it,” Robin Zhu added.
Samsung so far appears more focused on developing technology for driverless vehicles than building its own car.
In January, executives from Samsung and Harman talked about plans to create an autonomous car platform that could be sold to car manufacturers.
The self-driving car Samsung will be testing is a Hyundai vehicle equipped with cameras and sensors, according to South Korea’s Yonhap News.
Samsung didn’t immediately respond to a request for further information.
