On Wednesday the 5th, the largest automobile conference in Korea, Automotive Innovation Day, was held at The K Hotel.

Hosted by Automotive Electronics and sponsored by 19 companies, the event, like last year, featured demonstrations ranging from communications to infotainment and security. The conference, divided into three sessions, discussed ▲ADAS & autonomous vehicles, ▲connected cars & interior electrical components, and ▲autonomous driving testing & development.
Pang Chun Lin, Secretary General of the Telematics Industry Application Alliance (TIAA), delivered a keynote address at the ADAS session. Citing the recent widespread use of smart bicycles in China, he stated, "When autonomous vehicles become commercially viable, the concept of autonomous driving will be adopted not only for cars but for everything on the road."

He explained the commercialization stages as points, lines, and surfaces. If the current stage is the "point" stage, where hardware like cameras, lidar, and maps are being built, then the lines connecting these will be realized with the commercialization of 5G communications in 2020, and by 2030, artificial intelligence will be powering the connection, forming surfaces.

He said that 5G, which plays a 'line' role like this, "has been delayed in its construction due to the high cost of installing base stations. However, there is hope as the price of hardware such as sensors has recently been decreasing." He added that development of smart roads is slow because there are no internationally established standards and the business model is unclear.

Jens Hinrichsen, Senior Vice President of NXP Semiconductors, emphasized safety, citing the ISO 26262 safety standard and ASIL D level, which are required to achieve Level 3 autonomous driving. In his presentation, Jens stated, "Safety and security will be of paramount importance in autonomous vehicles," adding, "These must be integrated into the design phase of the vehicle's electronic architecture."

The final session featured a panel discussion on the topic, "Autonomous Driving: Threat or Opportunity?" Moderated by Professor Jeong Gu-min of Kookmin University, the panel included Jens Hinrikschen, Senior Vice President of NXP Semiconductors; Shin Jae-gon, Director of the Autonomous Driving Research Center at the Korea Automotive Technology Institute; and Yoo Si-bok, Director of the Korea Automotive Technology Institute.