The car itself that'll be hitting the road is a Hyundai customized with Samsung's own gear, but little else is known about exactly what sort of technology Samsung is providing. It sounds like a similar situation to Apple's own self-driving car that hit the road in Silicon Valley recently -- though Apple's Lexus is using plenty of off-the-shelf parts right now, it also likely contains some custom hardware of software on board. Both Apple and Samsung are likely angling to be providers or partners with auto-makers in the future, offering up their self-driving solutions.

The permit Samsung was just granted in South Korea is just the latest in a flurry of self-driving activity in the country. Nearly 20 test permits have been granted by South Korea's land ministry in a little over a year, with Hyundai being the first to get government approval.

While Samsung is keeping fairly quiet about what it's doing in the self-driving space, the rapid pace of development and intense interest in projects like this mean we'll likely hear what Samsung is working on in more detail before too long. Self-driving car technology is rapidly becoming a crowded space, so we'll have to see what Samsung thinks it can offer to stand out in the pack.