Mars Auto Secures ₩18.2 Billion Government Autonomous Heavy Truck AI Project

## Mars Auto, Leading the Commercialization of Middle-Mile Unmanned Autonomous Driving Based on E2E AI Truck autonomous driving startup Mars Auto has been finally selected as the lead institution for the national strategic project 'Development of Unmanned Autonomous Driving Commercialization Technology for Heavy Truck Cargo Transport,' valued at 18.2 billion KRW. This selection positions them to lead the commercialization of the domestic middle-mile (intermediate logistics) autonomous driving market. Mars Auto plans to actively utilize its proprietary camera-based End-to-End AI (E2E AI), which it has been developing since 2020, as the core technology for this project. E2E AI is an innovative technology where a single integrated neural network, trained on vast amounts of driving data, comprehensively performs perception, judgment, and control. Compared to existing methods that rely on LiDAR and high-definition maps (HD Maps), this technology reduces component costs and maintenance expenses by over 90%, offering exceptional cost competitiveness. Furthermore, it can flexibly respond to irregular driving patterns on the road and is gaining attention as the next-generation standard in the global industry, with Tesla applying it to its latest FSD (Full Self-Driving) system. Based on this technology, Mars Auto aims to demonstrate and commercialize unmanned autonomous driving technology on highways through: ▲commercialization of camera-based E2E AI specialized for heavy trucks, ▲response to anomalous situations on highways by building a large-scale real-world driving data pipeline of 100 million kilometers, and ▲implementation of a remote control platform for safe autonomous cargo transport. A total of 13 institutions from industry, academia, research, and government participated in this Mars Auto consortium, including research institutes such as Korea Electronics Technology Institute (KETI) and KAIST, as well as companies like UL Solutions, Hyundai Mobis, Hyundai Glovis, CJ Logistics, and Lotte Global Logistics. The project will run for a total of 28 months, from last September until December 2027. Park Il-soo, CEO of Mars Auto, stated his ambition: "We will contribute to innovating the middle-mile logistics market, valued at 33 trillion KRW domestically and 5,500 trillion KRW globally. Based on our accumulated technological capabilities, we will take the lead in commercializing unmanned highway transport and securing global competitiveness." Established in 2017, Mars Auto has been leading the domestic autonomous cargo transport sector by developing and operating its camera-based E2E AI autonomous driving system 'Mars Pilot,' successfully conducting the first autonomous truck test drive in Korea in 2019, and launching the first paid autonomous truck transport service in Korea in 2023.