Kakao Mobility honing self-driving tech to bring robotaxi to everyday use

Kakao Mobility is honing end-to-end self-driving technology to bring robotaxi service into everyday use in Korea. The company has been testing in Seoul’s Gangnam area since March and says the pilot has produced more than 13,000 kilometers of driving data. It plans to use a single E2E model for perception and decision-making by the end of this year, while keeping rule-based safety checks. The company said the pilot has recorded about 2,000 rides, an average customer rating of 4.97, and one minor rear-end accident with no injuries.

Kakao Mobility launched an autonomous passenger transport service in Gangnam in March this year, operating from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The service began with two vehicles and expanded to six in August.

The pilot fleet has logged more than 13,000 kilometers and completed about 2,000 rides.

Kakao Mobility said the service has received an average customer rating of 4.97 out of 5.

The company said there was one minor accident in which another vehicle rear-ended the self-driving car, but no injuries were reported.

Published Sep 9, 2026 2:07 pm KST

Kakao Mobility's self-driving test vehicle is showcased at a press briefing at the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association headquarters in southern Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Nam Hyun-woo

Kakao Mobility is honing its end-to-end (E2E) self-driving technology to bring self-driving taxis into everyday use in Korea, building on driving data accumulated over the past six months through an ongoing pilot program in Seoul’s bustling Gangnam area.

The ride-hailing platform held a press briefing on Wednesday, showcasing its latest progress in self-driving services and outlining its autonomous driving technology and integrated platform strategy.

Kakao Mobility formed its autonomous driving team in 2018 and began testing the technology in 2020. In March this year, it launched an autonomous passenger transport service in Seoul’s Gangnam area, operating from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

The service started with two vehicles and expanded to six in August. Kakao Mobility said the fleet has logged more than 13,000 kilometers so far, completed about 2,000 rides and received an average customer rating of 4.97 out of 5.

Kakao Mobility’s pilot program seeks to operate a mixture of E2E technology and a rule-based model.

A rule-based model divides autonomous driving into separate modules for sensing, perception, planning and control, with the vehicle following rules defined by human developers. The approach makes it possible to verify how the system reaches its decisions, but requires developers to anticipate virtually every situation that could occur on the road, which is a nearly impossible task.

On the other hand, an E2E model processes sensor data through a single artificial intelligence (AI) model and directly translates it into vehicle control without defining the intermediate steps. While a rule-based system is like feeding the vehicle a driving manual line by line, an E2E model is more akin to letting it learn by observing millions of hours of driving.

“If you ask a driver with 20 years of experience why they made a certain decision in a particular situation, they may simply say, ‘It just felt like the right thing to do,’” said Im In-ho, head of Kakao Mobility’s self-driving development team. “Learning that kind of judgment is what E2E is about.”

Kakao Mobility currently uses both rule-based and AI planners at the planning stage, where the vehicle decides how to maneuver. By the end of this year, the company plans to use a single E2E model for both perception and decision-making, while retaining rule-based safety checks to verify its decisions.

Im In-ho, head of Kakao Mobility’s self-driving development team, speaks during a press briefing at the Korea Automobile Manufacturers Association headquarters in southern Seoul, Wednesday. Korea Times photo by Nam Hyun-woo

Im said Kakao Mobility chose Gangnam because the area provides various “edge cases,” referring to unexpected situations encountered while driving. Dashcam footage shown during the briefing captured situations including vehicles making illegal U-turns, cars crossing the center line because of maintenance work, drunk pedestrians suddenly entering the road and cargo falling from delivery trucks.

“Driving for one month in Gangnam can expose us to far more unexpected situations than driving for a year in an easier environment, which has helped us secure valuable data,” Im said.

Kim Min-sun, leader of the company’s self-driving business team, said there had been one minor car accident in which another vehicle rear-ended the self-driving car, but no accidents involving injuries during the pilot period.

She said Kakao Mobility will use its capabilities not only in autonomous driving technology but also in platform operations to improve the service.

Kakao Mobility正在完善端到端自动驾驶技术，旨在将无人驾驶出租车服务引入韩国的日常生活。该公司自3月起在首尔江南区进行测试，并表示试点项目已积累超过13000公里的行驶数据。该公司计划在今年年底前采用单一的端到端模型进行感知和决策，同时保留基于规则的安全检查。Kakao Mobility表示，试点项目已完成约2000次行程，平均客户评分为4.97分，并发生过一起轻微的追尾事故，无人受伤。

今年3月，Kakao Mobility在江南区推出了自动驾驶客运服务，运营时间为晚上10点至凌晨5点。

该服务最初只有两辆车，8 月份增加到六辆。

试点车队已累计行驶超过 13,000 公里，完成了约 2,000 次行程。

Kakao Mobility表示，该服务的平均客户评分为4.97分（满分5分）。

该公司表示，发生了一起轻微事故，另一辆车追尾了这辆自动驾驶汽车，但没有人员受伤的报告。

发布于2026年9月9日下午2:07（韩国标准时间）

周三，Kakao Mobility的自动驾驶测试车在首尔南部韩国汽车制造商协会总部举行的新闻发布会上亮相。韩国时报摄影师南贤宇（Nam Hyun-woo）摄。

Kakao Mobility 正在完善其端到端 (E2E) 自动驾驶技术，以期在韩国将自动驾驶出租车投入日常使用。这项技术建立在过去六个月中通过在首尔繁华的江南地区进行的试点项目积累的驾驶数据之上。

该网约车平台周三举行新闻发布会，展示了其在自动驾驶服务方面的最新进展，并概述了其自动驾驶技术和集成平台战略。

Kakao Mobility于2018年组建了自动驾驶团队，并于2020年开始测试该技术。今年3月，该公司在首尔江南区推出了自动驾驶客运服务，运营时间为晚上10点至凌晨5点。

该服务最初只有两辆车，8月份增加到六辆。Kakao Mobility表示，车队迄今已累计行驶超过13000公里，完成约2000次行程，平均客户评分为4.97分（满分5分）。

Kakao Mobility 的试点项目旨在采用端到端技术和基于规则的模式相结合的方式运营。

基于规则的模型将自动驾驶系统划分为感知、认知、规划和控制四个独立模块，车辆遵循由人类开发者定义的规则。这种方法可以验证系统如何做出决策，但要求开发者预测道路上可能出现的几乎所有情况，这几乎是不可能完成的任务。

另一方面，端到端模型通过单一的人工智能（AI）模型处理传感器数据，并直接将其转化为车辆控制指令，而无需定义中间步骤。如果说基于规则的系统就像是逐行输入驾驶手册，那么端到端模型则更像是让车辆通过观察数百万小时的驾驶来学习。

“如果你问一位拥有20年驾驶经验的司机，为什么在特定情况下会做出某个决定，他们可能只会说，‘感觉这样做是对的’，”Kakao Mobility自动驾驶开发团队负责人任仁浩（Im In-ho）表示。“学习这种判断力正是端到端（E2E）的意义所在。”

Kakao Mobility目前在规划阶段同时使用基于规则和人工智能的规划器，由车辆决定如何行驶。该公司计划在今年年底前，使用单一的端到端模型进行感知和决策，同时保留基于规则的安全检查来验证其决策。

周三，Kakao Mobility自动驾驶研发团队负责人任仁浩在首尔南部韩国汽车制造商协会总部举行的新闻发布会上发表讲话。（韩国时报 南铉宇 摄）

Im表示，Kakao Mobility之所以选择江南区，是因为该地区存在各种“极端情况”，指的是驾驶过程中可能遇到的意外情况。简报会上播放的行车记录仪视频记录了诸如车辆非法掉头、车辆因维修作业越过中心线、醉酒行人突然闯入道路以及货车货物掉落等情况。

Im表示：“在江南开车一个月，比在更轻松的环境下开车一年，会让我们遇到更多意想不到的情况，这帮助我们获得了宝贵的数据。”

该公司自动驾驶业务团队负责人金敏善表示，试点期间曾发生过一起轻微的交通事故，另一辆车追尾了自动驾驶汽车，但没有发生任何造成人员伤亡的事故。

她表示，Kakao Mobility将利用其在自动驾驶技术以及平台运营方面的能力来改进服务。