By KHT Staff. Image via 高雄好過日.
KAOHSIUNG — Kaohsiung could become the first city in Taiwan to host an autonomous taxi service, with a possible rollout as early as 2028, according to a local civic affairs Facebook group.
In a June 1 post, 高雄好過日 said the planned Level 4 robotaxi service would use Nvidia’s DRIVE Hyperion platform and Foxconn’s (鴻海) design and manufacturing capabilities.
The group said Kaohsiung has been identified as an early deployment city, with initial service planned for a route linking Kaohsiung International Airport (高雄國際機場) and the city center. Future expansion could extend along the Taiwan High Speed Rail (台灣高鐵) corridor before broader deployment in Asia, according to the post.
The post linked Kaohsiung’s selection to Foxconn’s decision to base artificial intelligence and electric vehicle research and development work in the city, as well as cooperation on CityGPT, a localized sovereign AI initiative. It also cited Nvidia’s previous cooperation with the Kaohsiung City Government (高雄市政府) on the Kaohsiung Lighthouse Project (高雄燈塔計畫).
Speaking at GTC Taipei on June 1, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said robotaxis are among the more difficult applications of physical AI.
Chen said autonomous taxi operations require more than vehicle sensors and real-time computing. He said they also depend on historical and real-time urban traffic data, software and hardware integration, and simulation systems capable of modeling real-world traffic conditions.
According to 高雄好過日, Kaohsiung’s digital twin city model, developed with Nvidia, could provide detailed mapping data and help pre-train autonomous driving systems before deployment.
The group said self-driving vehicles are unlikely to replace a city’s main public transportation network, but could improve “first- and last-mile” connections. It said city agencies would need to coordinate over the next two years on how robotaxis could serve major transit and tourism hubs, including the airport, harbor, rail stations, and visitor destinations.
No formal launch announcement from the city government, Nvidia, or Foxconn was cited in the post.
