"Electric Vehicle Control Software Development" Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Collaborate with Domestic Universities

From the left in the photo: Kang Seong-won, Executive Director of Hyundai N G B; Kim Chi-kyung, Executive Director of Hyundai Motor Company and Kia; Park Jeong-guk, Head of Research and Development Headquarters at Hyundai Motor Company and Kia; Choi Hae-cheon, Vice President of Seoul National University; Song Jun-ho, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering at Seoul National University; Shim Hyeong-bo, Professor at Seoul National University.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Dae-yeol] Hyundai Motor and Kia have established a joint research lab with domestic universities to develop electric vehicle control software (SW) technology.

According to the company on the 28th, the newly established Intelligent Control Joint Research Lab involves Seoul National University, Yonsei University, and Kwangwoon University. Over the next three years, it will take on the role of pre-developing core software technologies necessary for controlling future electric vehicles. The lab is divided into three main groups: Artificial Intelligence (AI) group, Model Predictive Control (MPC) group, and Control & Observer group, which will conduct research on future technology items and control methodologies.

The AI group is led by Professor Kim Hyun-jin’s team from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University and Professor Choi Jong-eun’s team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Yonsei University. They will develop technologies such as AI that estimates road surface conditions to determine optimal driving guidance for electric vehicles. Methodologies utilizing AI, including energy optimization algorithms, will also be explored in advance.

The MPC group, led by Professor Lee Jong-min’s team from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University and Professor Kim Yeon-su’s team from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Kwangwoon University, will develop control technologies for optimal battery thermal management and study methodologies for integrated thermal management optimization of electric vehicles. The Control & Observer group, led by Professor Shim Hyung-bo’s team from the Department of Electrical Engineering at Seoul National University and Professor Baek Joo-hoon’s team from the Department of Robotics at Kwangwoon University, will develop large-scale V2G distributed optimization and create software methodologies to control electric vehicles with minimal sensors.

Hyundai Motor and Kia will oversee the operation of the joint research lab and support the research budget to enable each group to conduct their studies. They will also facilitate exchanges between Hyundai Motor and Kia researchers and university research teams, and outstanding researchers will be hired in the relevant fields.

Furthermore, unlike typical industry-academia programs that proceed based on individual projects and labs, the plan is to build an unprecedented organic industry-academia cluster by promoting active exchanges among participating universities and labs to generate synergy. Park Jung-guk, Head of Hyundai Motor and Kia R&D Headquarters, said, "The mobility paradigm shift toward electrification is happening faster day by day, and ultimately, control technology through software will determine business success or failure. We expect that the Intelligent Control Joint Research Lab, working with the best universities in Korea, will develop numerous breakthrough technologies leading the electrification era."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.