Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors will join hands with KAIST, Korea's top science and technology university, to develop next-generation autonomous driving sensors.

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors announced on the 21st that they will establish the 'Hyundai Motor Group-KAIST On-Chip LiDAR Joint Research Lab (hereinafter referred to as the Joint Research Lab)' at the KAIST headquarters in Daejeon to develop LiDAR sensors to be used in advanced autonomous vehicles together with KAIST.

The joint research lab aims to develop high-performance, compact on-chip sensor manufacturing technology and new signal detection technology, which are essential in the autonomous driving market where development competition is becoming increasingly fierce.

On-chip sensors use semiconductor technology to add various functions, and if this technology is utilized, lidar can be made smaller than before, and price competitiveness can be secured through mass production using semiconductor processes.

In addition, current autonomous driving sensors measure the distance to objects by emitting light and measuring the time it takes for it to return, but the method using 'Frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW),' a next-generation signal detection technology, modulates the frequency over time.It emits changing light and measures the difference in frequency of the returning light to detect distance.

Compared to existing technologies, it has less signal noise, can calculate the relative speed of objects, and can exclude interference from external light sources such as sunlight, making it relatively advantageous in bad weather environments.

The joint research lab will consist of approximately 30 members, including the Hyundai Motor Company-Kia Advanced Technology Research Institute research team and KAIST Electrical and Electronic Engineering Department research team including Professors Kim Sang-hyun, Kim Sang-sik, Jeong Wan-young, and Hamza Kurt, and will be operated for four years until 2028.

KAIST will be in charge of detailed research in specialized fields for each research team, including: △Development of small on-chip LiDAR devices based on silicon photonics (optical semiconductors); △Production of high-speed, high-power drive integrated circuits (ICs) for LiDAR operation; and △Optimized design and verification of LiDAR systems.

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors will be coordinating the operation of the joint research lab together with Hyundai Engineering & Construction, a specialized industry-academia cooperation organization, and will spare no support in identifying technology trends, suggesting research directions, deriving key ideas, and recommending technologies and experts to strengthen research capabilities.

Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors, which are leading the way in autonomous driving technology, expect to be able to bring forward the era of fully autonomous driving through their collaboration with KAIST, which possesses world-class technology, and announced that they will do their best to support the joint research lab so that it can produce tangible results.

Professor Kim Sang-hyun, head of the KAIST Joint Research Lab, said, “Lidar sensors, which serve as the eyes of automobiles, are a core technology for the future development of autonomous vehicle technology, and a technology that automakers must also internalize.” He added, “Since the joint research lab is being established at a time when technology is so important, we will be able to lay the foundation for leading Lidar-related technologies.”