Kia shows the autonomous Soul in a virtual spy thriller

VIRTUAL reality gamers and Kia fans can experience next-generation automotive technologies at the 6th Philippine International Motor Show (PIMS) exhibit of Columbian Autocars Corporation (CAC), the exclusive Philippine distributor of Kia cars.

The 6th PIMS organized by the Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines, Inc. (Campi) opened last Wednesday, Sept. 14, and closes tomorrow, Sunday, Sept. 18, at the World Trade Center in Pasay City.

CAC president Ginia R. Domingo said, “PIMS only comes around every two years, which is why we always make sure to put our best foot forward for this event. It is always a treat for us to show Kia fans, both young and young-at-heart, what are the latest developments that we are bringing to the table.”

To showcase Kia Motors’ progress in next-gen technologies, which are all the rage in the global automotive industry, CAC is displaying at PIMS the autonomous Soul, which debuted last January at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Virtual reality theater

CAC set up a simulated 18-seat Virtual Reality (VR) theater where PIMS visitors can put on VR headsets and experience being involved “live” in a spy thriller lasting four and a half minutes in which the Autonomous Soul is seen in action.

“In the VR spy thriller, agents invade the headquarters and when pinned down by gunfire, call the Soul through a smart watch to come to them for their escape,” CAC vice president for marketing Hernando “Dodie” D. Ganac, Jr. told Inquirer Motoring.  “It’s like the consumer is part of the action.”

He said that when Kia Motors launches the semi-autonomous compact crossover in 2020, one of the things the Soul can do is go to its owner when summoned through a smartphone or smart watch. 

For example, when you exit the supermarket with your groceries and don’t want to walk under the hot sun or in the rain to the parking lot, you can call the autonomous Soul via your smartphone to come to you at the supermarket’s doorway.

Although the first marketable fully autonomous car from Kia won’t be available until 2030, Kia claims that the work their R&D teams are currently doing to develop Kia’s range of Drive Wise technologies is already improving on-road safety and assistance.

The innovations presented at this year’s CES demonstrated the future direction Kia Motors is taking.

Drive Wise by 2020

Before Kia’s fully autonomous vehicle hits the road, Kia Motors thinks that partially autonomous Drive Wise technology should be ready by 2020.

Even before the 2016 CES opened on Jan. 6, Kia Motors had been given a license to test a self-driving Kia Soul EV on public roads in Nevada.

At the CES, Kia Motors launched the Drive Wise sub-brand that will encompass all of the company’s advanced driver assistance systems and innovations in the human-machine interface and V2X over the next 15 years. 

V2X is a “vehicle-to-everything” communications system that uses a network of sensors, radar, light detection and cameras to “perceive the surrounding environment and all relevant obstacles as a human driver does,” a Kia release said.

Kia’s autonomous driving technology consists of four systems.

The Highway Autonomous Driving System allows the vehicle to interpret lane markings to stay in its lane, pass other cars, or follow a different road without the driver’s input.

The Urban Autonomous Driving System works similarly for negotiating dense city traffic.

The Preceding Vehicle Following System helps the car safely follow the vehicle in front of it when lane markings are indecipherable.

The Emergency Stop System brings the car to a safe and appropriate stop in case of extreme driver inattention.

7-speed DCT

Meanwhile, aside from the Autonomous Soul, CAC displays at PIMS the new standard Kia Soul with 7-speed  dual clutch transmission (DCT), the first of its kind for the brand, developed from the ground up at Kia’s R&D Center in Namyang, Korea.

Ganac said that the 7-speed Soul is basically the same as the current generation, but with slightly redesigned front and rear bumpers.

The standard Soul is powered by a 1.6-liter common rail direct injection twin cam VGT (variable geometry turbo) diesel engine.

CAC offers three variants of the Soul: two with the DCT and one with a manual transmission. Ganac said that the manual Soul sells more because of its price below one million pesos.

The brand’s best-sellers are the mini compact Picanto, and the new 11-seater Grand Carnival minivan second.  CAC started selling the new Grand Carnival in January.

CAC plans to launch a refreshed Picanto and Rio hatchback in 2017, Ganac revealed.