Samsung is the lucky owner of a Speedway motor racecourse, and it aims to modify it into a proper testing ground for self-driving cars.
The Everland racing track is part of an amusement park located in Yongin, Gyeonggi, South Korea. Everland opened in 1995 and was the first paved race track in Yongin, but in the past years it saw little motor action.
Samsung C&T, the division that runs the track, said that Samsung Electronics will be able to test its autonomous driving technologies on it as soon as the required customization is complete.
"It is very difficult to find new space to build a racecourse to test autonomous vehicles or get a license to operate one," said a Samsung spokesperson. Modeling a speedway is a must in order to make it suitable for autonomous vehicle testing.
The company further points out that it has to bring some additions to the already existing infrastructure. Elements that are part of the default urban environment, such as crossings, headlights and different road condition simulators will be added to thoroughly test the reliability and safety of self-driven cars.
The speedway has been developed into a veritable mecca for local race car lovers. One notable name is Lee Kun-hee, Samsung's Chairman, who took many laps around the track in his sports vehicle.
However, after 2009, Everland Speedway lost some of its attraction, barely seeing any activity. It was only used whenever there were promotional events from automakers or test drives.
To know what the future autonomous-driving testing ground should look like, Samsung took notes from the academia. The global corporation visited Mcity, the full-scale test facility for self-driving vehicles that belongs to the University of Michigan.
Mcity contains "only" 130,000-square meters (32 acre) of testing space that was opened in July last year. Inside it, you can find every element of a regular town, such as a bridge, an underpass, a traffic circle or a roundabout.
In December 2015, the first carmaker that tested automated vehicles on Mcity was Ford.
IT industry experts claim that Samsung will put the pedal to the metal on the speedway, testing both its hardware and software tech. This means that everything from the operating system to the embedded cameras on the car and to the proximity radar will be fully vetted before entering manufacturing stage.
Both Samsung Electronics and the Gyeonggi authorities support the investment and development efforts.
