Kia launching Drive Wise sub-brand for autonomous tech

Kia is launching a new sub-brand, dubbed Drive Wise, dedicated to the "advanced driver assistance systems" it is currently developing in hopes of launching autonomous vehicles by 2030.

Unveiled at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the Drive Wise brand will be responsible for a suite of self-driving and safety technologies Kia continues to introduce in its vehicle lineup, as well as new human-machine interface functions.

The automaker announced in November that it will invest US$2 billion by 2018 as it works on autonomous and semi-autonomous technologies in-house.

, Senior Vice President, Central Advanced Research and Engineering Institute of Hyundai Motor Group, commented, "Kia is undergoing a very promising and gradual process of introducing partially and fully autonomous technologies to its vehicles," Tae-Won Lim, vice-president of the Hyundai Motor Group's Central Advanced Research and Engineering Institute, said in a statement.

"Although the first marketable fully-autonomous car from Kia will not be available in the immediate future, the work our R&D teams are currently doing to develop our range of Drive Wise technologies is already improving on-road safety and driver assistance."

Some of the technologies the Drive Wise team is working on include:

• Highway Autonomous Driving: A combination of radar and camera detection systems that interpret lane markings, allowing the car to stay in its lane or switch into others to overtake other vehicles or follow a different road without driver input
• Urban Autonomous Driving: GPS and sensors identify the car's position on the road, allowing it to safely navigate through densely-congested city environments while responding to live traffic updates
• Preceding Vehicle Following: An enhanced lane-keeping system which monitors the vehicle in front and allows the car to calculate its own path relative to it, following at a safe distance if road markings are indecipherable due to poor conditions or road layout
• Emergency Stop System: A system that analyzes the driver's face, ensuring their attention does not stray from the road for too long. If it detects that the driver takes their eyes from the road for too long, it can automatically direct the car into an appropriate side lane and come to a halt
• Traffic Jam Assist: Monitors the vehicle in front during congested traffic conditions, maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front and moving into appropriate spaces to gain ground
• Autonomous Valet Parking: Allows drivers to exit the car and let the vehicle park itself remotely, activated using the smart key or a smartwatch

Kia also announced that it has received a licence from the State of Nevada to begin testing its autonomous technologies on public roads.