See How Motional’s Autonomous Hyundai Ioniq 5 Robotaxi Safely Drives In Las Vegas

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Hyundai and Motional want people in Las Vegas to feel safe in and around its autonomous vehicles so has released this video highlighting just how advanced its safety features are.

The two companies will launch the Ioniq 5 robotaxi in late 2023 in Las Vegas before later introducing the service in Los Angeles and eventually, other cities in the U.S. states and around the world. In fact, Hyundai and Motional are already testing the EV on the streets of Boston, San Diego, and Singapore.

Read: Motional And Lyft To Launch Autonomous Ride-Hailing Service In Los Angeles

The specially-equipped Ioniq 5 models have more than 30 advanced sensors and an advanced computing system to navigate even the most unpredictable of situations. This is particularly important in a place like Las Vegas where oddly-shaped vehicles like stretch limousines and billboard trucks are seen frequently. The Ioniq 5’s have also been trained to identify and predict the behavior of all pedestrians, even if they are wearing unusual costumes and doing strange things.

In this video, we can see that if a pedestrian juggling on the sidewalk dropped something onto the road, the Ioniq 5 will recognize it and stop. Hyundai also says that the EV has become like an experienced chauffeur and is able to navigate crowded hotel driveways throughout Las Vegas, identify the individual who has requested a ride, and pick them up seamlessly.

Motional announced last year that people in Las Vegas would be able to request a ride in one of its autonomous vehicles through a partnership with Lyft. Vehicles currently have two operators in the front seats to take over in case something goes wrong but the companies plan to remove these operators from the vehicle next year. As of August, Motional revealed that it and Lyft had already offered more than 100,000 autonomous rides across Las Vegas using the advanced test vehicles.