HYUNDAI’S IONIQ 5 ROBOTAXI IS NOW ROAD TESTED AND LOVED BY A BLIND GIRL FROM PORTLAND

The autonomous vehicle becomes the first driverless car to ace a DMV driving test – transforming the life of blind World Championship rower, Pearl Outlaw

 

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, over 5 million people in the U.S. are unable to drive due to a mental or physical condition.  According to the American Automobile Association, 73% of Americans do not trust self-driving cars.

Hyundai’s IONIQ 5 robotaxi has passed the national DMV driving exam – transforming the life of a blind athlete from Portland, who now has plenty of places to go, thanks to this pioneering new technology.

A new short film by creative agency Jung von Matt, shows how the driverless vehicle was put through an official DMV driving examiner, undergoing a comprehensive road test around Las Vegas.  The result?  Hyundai’s IONIQ5 robotaxi aces the test with flying colors.

The storyline of the film, directed by Park Pictures’ Daniel Mercadante, features a visually impaired rower from Portland, Pearl Outlaw, and her mother Ruth.  Pearl’s condition, called Retinitis Pigmentosa, prevents her from obtaining a driver’s license. Their moving personal story illustrates how Hyundai’s autonomous driving technology will help Pearl in the future by transforming her daily transportation challenges into new lifelong discoveries outside of her home, which she is rarely able to leave, until now.

The goal of the new initiative by Hyundai is to change widely-held perceptions of autonomous driving technology, which currently suffers from a lack of trust in comparison with human drivers, and to show how it can benefit people’s daily lives enormously. The story of Pearl underlines how Hyundai is committed to designing driving solutions that enhance the quality of life for individuals unable to drive independently, aiming to empower them with greater autonomy and mobility.

In the film, the Hyundai IONIQ5 robotaxi navigates its way through an official driving evaluation, autonomously performing maneuvers under the watchful scrutiny of Kandice Jones, a certified driving examiner with the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles, who, in her career as an examiner, has failed the vast majority of student drivers.

In the driving test, conducted by the highly experienced professional examiner, the IONIQ 5 robotaxi excelled, impressing with its speed control, lane changes and maneuvering, its ability to accurately stop at a stop sign, perform left turns, and its reaction time to developing hazards. To everyone’s surprise, the vehicle achieved a flawless score.

This achievement underscores the robotaxi’s reliability and safety, opening a new era of trust and empowerment that could transform millions of lives. The film underlines how technological advancement holds particular promise for individuals like Pearl and those with physical or mental limitations, who might never have the chance to undergo a driving test. After experiencing the IONIQ5 robotaxi firsthand for herself after the driving examination, Pearl’s journey symbolizes the potential for enhanced independence through innovation, offering a glimpse into a future where technology broadens horizons for everyone.

“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 raise awareness about our AI-based autonomous driving technology, which is set to provide positive changes to the everyday lives of our customers.”

Watch Pearl’s heartwarming story and the new film for Hyundai HERE.