Development of New 'Intelligent Control' Technology, Key to Future Electric Vehicles
Establishment of a core cluster for recruitment-linked intelligent control

Hyundai Motor and Kia have partnered with Korea's top universities to develop intelligent control technology for electric vehicles.

Hyundai Motor and Kia held an event on the 27th at the Seoul National University Faculty Hall to commemorate the establishment of the 'Intelligent Control Joint Research Laboratory,' with officials from Seoul National University, Yonsei University, Kwangwoon University, and the Hyundai Motor and Kia R&D headquarters in attendance.

The event began with congratulatory remarks by Seoul National University Vice President Choi Jae-chun and Hyundai Motor & Kia R&D Headquarters President Park Jung-kook, followed by an introduction to the research topics scheduled for the Intelligent Control Joint Laboratory and the presentation of laboratory plaques provided by Hyundai Motor & Kia to participating professors from the three universities.

The Intelligent Control Joint Research Lab will proactively develop core software technologies for controlling future electric vehicles over the next three years. It plans to conduct research on future electric vehicle technology items and control methodologies by dividing into three groups: the AI Group, the MPC (Model Predictive Control) Group, and the Control/Observer Group.

The AI group is led by Professor Hyun-Jin Kim's team from the Department of Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University and Professor Jong-Eun Choi's team from the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Yonsei University, and includes road surface condition estimation and optimal driving guidance determination for electric vehicle AI. We develop technology and conduct preliminary research on methodologies utilizing AI, such as energy optimization algorithms.

The MPC group will be led by Professor Jong-Min Lee's team from the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Seoul National University and Professor Yeon-Su Kim's team from the Department of Chemical Engineering at Kwangwoon University, and will develop control technologies for optimal battery thermal management and research methodologies for optimizing integrated thermal management of electric vehicles.

The Control/Observer Group, led by Professor Hyung-Bo Shim's team from the School of Electrical Engineering at Seoul National University and Professor Ju-Hoon Baek's team from the School of Robotics at Kwangwoon University, is conducting development with the goal of optimizing large-scale V2G distribution and enhancing in-wheel electric vehicle control performance, and plans to develop a software methodology for controlling electric vehicles with a minimal number of sensors.

Hyundai Motor and Kia will oversee the operation of joint research laboratories and provide research budgets to enable each group to conduct research. They also aim to enhance the capabilities of both sides through exchanges between Hyundai and Kia researchers and university research teams, and further plan to recruit outstanding researchers from the joint laboratories into relevant departments.

In addition, unlike typical industry-academia programs that were centered on individual projects and laboratories, the plan is to establish an organic industry-academia cluster that did not exist before by creating synergy through active exchange between participating universities and laboratories.

Hyundai Motor President Park Chung-kook stated, “The paradigm shift toward electrification is accelerating day by day, and ultimately, control technology via software will determine the success or failure of the business,” adding, “I expect that a large number of cutting-edge technologies to lead the era of electrification will be developed at the joint intelligent control research lab with the nation’s top universities.”