Building trust in driverless cars with Hyundai’s robotaxi

The car became the first autonomous vehicle to ace its driving test

Film agency Jung von Matt has created a short film to show how Hyundai’s IONIQ5 robotaxi became the first autonomous vehicle to take and pass a standard driving license test in Nevada.

The goal of the campaign is to change perceptions of autonomous driving technology, which currently lacks trust compared with human drivers. To illustrate how Hyundai’s driverless car can benefit people, the car was put through its paces in Las Vegas by a real-life driving examiner, undergoing a road test around the famous Las Vegas Strip and some suburban areas of the city. 

‘As a company that pursues freedom of mobility, we at Hyundai aim to exhibit the safety and trustworthiness of the IONIQ 5 robotaxi through this very campaign,’ said Sungwon Jee, Senior Vice President and Global Chief Marketing Officer at Hyundai Motor Company. ‘We will continue our efforts to communicate about our AI-based autonomous driving technology, which is set to provide positive changes in the everyday lives of our customers.

The film’s storyline, directed by Park Pictures’ Daniel Mercadante, features a visually impaired former Paralympian, Pearl Outlaw, and her mother, Ruth. In the film, the Hyundai IONIQ5 robotaxi navigates its way through an official driving evaluation, autonomously performing manoeuvres under the scrutiny of a certified driving examiner, who, in her career as an examiner,  failed in her career as an examiner, almost 90% of the students.
To her surprise, the vehicle not only meets but exceeds expectations, achieving a flawless score, and the vehicle is issued with its own personal Nevada’s drivers licence. 

‘Autonomous driving technology would be a game changer for a large part of the population. And whilst there are great achievements being made in the development of the technology there are major trust issues in the general public. We hope this project will spark a conversation around who would benefit from driverless cars and what it would take to get someone stepping into a car with no one behind the steering wheel.‘ adds Jung von Matt CCO Daniel Schäfer

The film will be running online and on the Hyundai Worldwide social media channels.

Featured image: Hyundai’s IONIQ5 robotaxi