At AVTS North America 2025, Dr. Joonwoo Son, founder of Sonnet.AI, delivered a keynote titled “Autonomy by Design: Real-World Lessons Shaping the Roboshuttle Vision.” He emphasized that autonomous driving must move beyond a race of sensors and algorithms to become something that people genuinely trust — shaped by comfort, real-world experience, and operational reality.
Extending from research initiated at DGIST in 2014, Sonnet.AI has strengthened the foundation of Korea’s autonomous driving industry through the RAXI™ robotaxi, AutoDrive™ integrated platform, and Sonnix™ industrial automation system. From countless hours of real-world driving and feedback, the company distilled four key lessons — Trust, Cost, Design, and Scalability — and refined them into a unifying philosophy: “Autonomy by Design.” 
Dr. Son’s session was not about technology itself, but about how autonomy matures — from technology to industry, and from industry to trust.

By Han Sang Min _ han@autoelectronics.co.kr
한글로보기













“Autonomy by Design — Completing Autonomy through Experience and Trust.”
Dr. Son began his presentation with this statement.
He explained that Autonomy by Design is not about stacking more sensors, algorithms, maps, or data; rather, it is about evolving through actual operation and human experience — about how people perceive safety, and how sustainable business models take root in reality.







Sonnet.AI — A Thirty-Year Journey in Autonomy

Founded in 2017 by DGIST researchers, Sonnet.AI began with robotaxis and autonomous shuttles and has since expanded into industrial automation, including smart ports and factories. Its three flagship brands — RAXI™, AutoDrive™, and Sonnix™ — represent this convergence of technology, service, and automation.

Within just eight years, the company established a distinctive position in Korea’s autonomy ecosystem. In 2018, Sonnet.AI became the first SME to obtain a national autonomous driving permit. In 2021, it launched Korea’s first commercial robotaxi service in Daegu, and by 2024, it received Level 4 autonomous shuttle certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport — officially registering as an autonomous vehicle manufacturer.

Today, Sonnet.AI operates in nine cities across Korea, having accumulated over 35,000 kilometers of accident-free urban driving and *more than 4,500 passengers.
From tourist attractions and business hubs to campuses, residential zones, and workation centers, the company continually gathers diverse data, transforming real-world driving into research — literally writing its progress on asphalt rather than on paper.

Sonnet.AI’s roots trace back to 1993, when Professor Min-Hong Han, later the company’s CTO, led Korea’s first autonomous driving project and successfully demonstrated nighttime highway driving in Seoul.
That lineage — from lab to road, from research to industry, from technology to service — defines Sonnet.AI’s current philosophy.

A key symbol of this approach is the company’s feedback loop: passenger feedback goes to the operations team, observations move to the engineering team, and by dawn, an updated code is already back on the streets.

“This feedback loop,” Dr. Son explained, “is what keeps Sonnet.AI alive and evolving.”









Experience and Four Lessons

“Trust,” Dr. Son reminded the audience, “doesn’t come from technology — it comes from experience.”

1. Trust & Perceived Safety: In a roboshuttle pilot in Gangneung, only 28% of passengers said they felt safe before the ride, but after experiencing it, 83% reported feeling safe.

“People don’t trust specifications. They trust what they feel — the smooth motion, the quiet stops, the clear interface. Direct experience is the best marketing.”

2. Cost & Business Model: Early robotaxi ventures struggled with low utilization and high fixed costs. Sonnet.AI solved this with a real-time app-based reservation system that improved fleet efficiency — but more importantly, it redefined its business model.
The company expanded beyond low-margin mobility services into ports, logistics, campuses, and industrial missions, creating a portfolio focused on profitability and stability.

“The future of autonomy is not only in mobility,” Son said. “It’s in automating industrial infrastructure. Innovation comes from operations, not only from technology.”

3. Design Optimization: “Fewer sensors, smarter design.”
Sonnet.AI reduced sensor count while maintaining overlapping coverage for reliability.
It replaced expensive industrial PCs with embedded GPU boards to cut power use and costs — transforming the vehicle from a high-tech prototype into a true industrial product.

4. Scalable Software Architecture: Its AutoDrive™ platform shares one architecture across vehicles — from cars and shuttles to industrial haulers — enabling fast reuse and reliable updates.

“Software consistency determines the speed of a company,” said Dr. Son.








Autonomy by Design — Lessons Become Philosophy

These four lessons evolved into Sonnet.AI’s guiding philosophy, “Autonomy by Design.”
It is built on four principles:
Comfort-Centric Autonomy — Building trust through smooth, human-centered motion
Diverse Business Models & Efficiency — Expanding into high-value industrial missions
Optimized Design for Autonomy — Modular, lightweight, and cost-efficient structures
Reusability & Scalability — One software core serving multiple markets

Its embodiment is RAXIAN™, a modular autonomous platform designed from the ground up for autonomy, not as a retrofit.
Its flat modular chassis supports multiple body types, in-wheel motors allow flexible powertrains, and an FRP-steel hybrid frame balances weight and strength.

RAXIAN’s sensor-agnostic architecture allows the software core to remain intact regardless of hardware changes.

“We build software-first autonomy, independent of hardware,” said Dr. Son.

The platform incorporates Sonnet.AI’s patented Self-Adaptive Traffic Signal Recognition and Shared Upgrade Ecosystem, enabling vehicles to share data and learn collectively from real-world environments.

Developed with INNODESIGN, RAXIAN’s design combines simplicity and inclusivity:
face-to-face seating, a wide low floor, wheelchair access, and audio guidance for visually impaired users.

“Technology must serve everyone,” Son noted. “That’s what future mobility means.”

RAXIAN is not a product — it’s a platform adaptable to city shuttles, campus mobility, port logistics, and industrial transport. By targeting high-value industrial missions first, Sonnet.AI ensures both commercial and technical sustainability.

In 2024, the company earned Korea’s first Level 4 autonomous shuttle certification awarded to an SME, incorporating functional safety, SOTIF, and redundancy across perception, computing, and control. Cybersecurity and teleoperation safeguards further reinforce the system’s reliability.









From Korea to the World

Sonnet.AI’s next chapter is global.
“From Korea to the World,” said Dr. Son.

The roadmap unfolds in three stages:
Expansion into Asian markets with similar regulations and road environments
Building collaborative partnerships for entry into North America
Combining scalable production with local operational expertise for global deployment

“We don’t sell technology,” Son concluded. “We find partners who want to design the future with us.”

For Dr. Joonwoo Son, Autonomy by Design is not a catchphrase.
It is the distilled result of thirty years of research, tens of thousands of kilometers of driving, and thousands of passenger experiences.
It is the design principle that turns autonomy from validation to industry, and technology into trust.

AEM(오토모티브일렉트로닉스매거진)