The future of cars is crabwalking, sleep monitoring and battery brains, Hyundai Mobis says

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The future of cars is crabwalking, sleep monitoring and battery brains, Hyundai Mobis says

Published: 03 Oct. 2024, 13:00

SARAH CHEA
chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr

Visitors to Hyundai Mobis's R&D Tech Day event take a look at the exhibition at the company's R&D center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday. [HYUNDAI MOBIS]

UIWANG, Gyeonggi — From brainwave-based driver monitoring system to wheels that crabwalk, Hyundai Mobis is betting big on the cars of tomorrow that will evolve with the electrification shift.

Hyundai Mobis unveiled the 65 newest mobility technologies that will be commercialized in two to three years during a two-week tech event at its research and development (R&D) center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi. The Korean auto parts maker vowed to pour 1.7 trillion won ($1.3 billion) into R&D this year alone.

The nine-story, 21,600-pyeong (770,000-square-foot) R&D center marks the first time Mobis has gathered all of its research engineers to a location to dive into key technologies for a battery management system, the so-called battery brain that monitors the condition of batteries for the quality testing of auto parts. Some 650 engineers work at the center.

Lee Young-kook, vice president of the electric powertrain engineering division at Hyundai Mobis, speaks during a press conference at the company's R&D center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi, on Wednesday. [HYUNDAI MOBIS]

“Since Mobis first jumped into the EV parts business in 2008, our portfolio was largely centered on auto parts by units, but now, we aim to offer comprehensive solutions,” said Lee Young-kook, vice president of the electric powertrain engineering division at Hyundai Mobis, during a news conference at the center on Wednesday.

“With cars going smarter, Mobis is exerting all efforts to advance technologies that can later apply to robotics and possibly the flying taxi, the next-generation transportation form.”

The comprehensive solution includes Mobis’ 3-in-1 electric system that houses the motor, inverter and reducer for optimization to power the rear wheel.

The booth that had the biggest crowd at the event was the M.Brain care system, which can detect drivers’ conditions by analyzing their brain waves.

Putting an earphone in one ear, the system checks the driver’s levels of distraction, such as fatigue, drowsiness and even whether they zone out. It warns the drivers through vibration and visual signals.

Hyundai Mobis's 22-kilowatt integrated charging control unit, which can cut the charging time of an EV battery in half. [HYUNDAI MOBIS]

“We are targeting to commercialize it by next year,” said an engineer at Hyundai Mobis. “The technology will be further developed so that later on, the car can make some actions in case of drivers’ distraction such as pulling over onto the shoulder.”

Mobis’s “in-wheel technology” was also on display, which was first unveiled at the CES 2024 early this year, placing four small motors inside each wheel as opposed to the single large driving motor commonly used in EVs. This configuration enables each wheel to generate its own power.

Mobis’s “in-wheel technology” places four small motors inside each wheel and allows cars to "crabwalk" or move sideways, drive diagonally and make pivot turns. [HYUNDAI MOTOR]

The technology allows cars to “crabwalk” or move sideways, drive diagonally and make pivot turns, a significant function for drivers who find parallel parking difficult.

“We already own the technology, but automakers still remain hesitant to install it,” Lee said. “We eye commercialization in three years, for very high-end brands, preferentially.”

The auto parts maker also introduced a 22-kilowatt Integrated Charging Control Unit, which can cut the charging time of an EV battery by half.

Mobis is also focusing on the advancement of its battery system, which can prevent EVs from catching fire.

“Our ultimate goal is enhancing the technology so that the car, in the future, will able to extinguish fire on its own,” Lee said.

Various global automakers were invited to the Uiwang R&D center for the two-week event, including Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and General Motors, in Mobis’s desperate move to lure global clients, 85 percent of whose sales are currently dependent on Hyundai Motor and Kia.

It constructed a battery system factory in Spain dedicated to Volkswagen after it won a large-scale order from the German carmaker. The exact size of the deal remains undisclosed.

Mobis also secured an ICCU deal from a Japanese automaker in February, the size of which has not been declared.

“German automakers are particularly interested in our battery system, while other European brands are into our power electric system and Japanese carmakers in our ICCUs,” Lee said.

Mobis secured 12.3 trillion won, or $9.2 billion, worth of orders from foreign brands last year, surpassing, for the first time, the 10 trillion won mark. Its total annual sales recorded 59.2 trillion won, up 14.2 percent on year.

BY SARAH CHEA [chea.sarah@joongang.co.kr]