Kia “Drive Wise” Bundles Future Self-Driving Technologies at 2016 CES

LAS VEGAS – Kia Motors is bundling current and future advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) under a new sub-brand, Drive Wise, and displaying them here at the 2016 CES.

The Drive Wise technologies, which will provide the foundation for future Kia self-driving cars over the next 15 years, include many systems currently being tested by global competitors. Among those are Highway Autonomous Driving, Urban Autonomous Driving, Traffic Jam Assist and Autonomous Valet Parking.

Kia is testing some of those systems in a specially equipped version of the Kia Soul EV, and recently was licensed by Nevada to conduct those tests on public roads in the state.

Kia has said it is spending $2 billion by 2018 to develop ADAS technologies, with a goal of producing semi-autonomous cars by 2020 and fully autonomous cars by 2030.

Kia’s CES display includes an I-Cockpit module to showcase some of its Drive Wise technologies, including a new Human-Machine Interface. Kia’s latest HMI combines such intelligent technologies as gesture control, fingerprint sensors and smart-device connectivity.

The automaker, part of the Hyundai Group, said its future autonomous cars will feature an array of sensors, radar, lidar and cameras to enable self-driving capability, including vehicle-to-everything (V2X) connectivity.

Edmunds says: Kia cautions that its first “marketable” self-driving cars “will not be available in the immediate future.”