Hyundai Motor Group Singapore Global Innovation Center begins full operation. Production of self-driving robotaxi, etc.

Hyundai Motor Group will build a human-centered smart urban mobility hub in Singapore and begin full-scale operation.

As a decision to lead the next 50 years of electrification beyond the 50 years of internal combustion engines, it is expected to become one of the two axes of Hyundai Motor Group’s innovation along with the Ulsan EV-only plant.

On the 21st, Hyundai Motor Group held a completion ceremony at the ‘Hyundai Motor Group Singapore Global Innovation Center (HMGICS)’ located in the Jurong Innovation District in western Singapore.

HMGICS is Hyundai Motor Group’s business that includes ‘technological innovation’ based on an intelligent and automated manufacturing platform, ‘manufacturing innovation’ centered on a multi-product flexible production system, and building a sales model based on customer experience. It is a test bed that researches and demonstrates human-centered future mobility based on innovation.

The completion ceremony was attended by key political figures from both countries, including Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong and Ahn Deok-geun, Head of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. At the Hyundai Motor Group, executives including Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Eui-sun, Hyundai Motor Company President Jang Jae-hoon, and President Kim Yong-hwa were present.

The completion ceremony was preceded by a welcoming speech by Chairman Chung Eui-sun, followed by a congratulatory speech by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong. Next, HMGICS’ future manufacturing technology innovation story was introduced, and after an MOU signing ceremony to establish Singapore’s mobility technology and industrial ecosystem, the official launch of HMGICS was celebrated through a completion ceremony.

Chairman Chung Eui-sun of Hyundai Motor Group said, “Singapore and Hyundai Motor Group have a common innovation DNA that moves toward a better future,” and “Based on this spirit, Hyundai Motor Group seeks to achieve innovation through new, people-centered technologies.” He said. He continued, “I am confident that through HMGICS, we will be able to create innovative mobility solutions that can bring positive change to human development.”

Hyundai Motor Group plans to actively utilize Singapore’s excellent foundation to achieve innovation in three areas, including R&D, manufacturing, and business, and secure a sustainable growth engine for the group.

First, Hyundai Motor Group provides HMGICS with a highly automated cell-based flexible production system using cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, efficient production operation based on digital twin technology that synchronizes reality and virtuality, a data-based intelligent operating system, We have built an environment that can respond quickly to various environmental changes and customer needs through a human-centered manufacturing process that harmonizes humans and robots.

In addition, we believe that customers are at the center of future mobility innovation and provide customized customer experiences and services optimized for customer needs from order to delivery in order to provide new values ​​and experiences that have never existed before.

In addition, we plan to establish close collaborative relationships with universities, government research institutes, companies, and global partners through the Corporate Lab program and continue efforts to develop sustainable mobility manufacturing technologies and production solutions.

Hyundai Motor Group determined that Singapore, with its excellent infrastructure and accessibility, was the most suitable region as a smart urban mobility hub to build an innovation platform.

In particular, the Jurong Innovation District, where HMGICS is located, is an area being developed in accordance with the economic reform plan announced by the Singapore government in 2016, and is a high-tech industrial complex leading the digital transformation that fosters manufacturing and converts the overall process to digital. is being reborn as

HMGICS was built on a site of approximately 44,000 m2 (13,000 pyeong) in the Jurong Innovation District, with a total floor area of ​​approximately 90,000 m2 (27,000 pyeong), two underground levels, and seven above-ground levels. It is a small-scale building in one building. It consists of a complex space equipped with all facilities, including manufacturing facilities, work space for research and development (R&D) and office work, and customer experience facilities.

The first floor is home to an automatic logistics system, smart farm, brand experience space, and customer vehicle delivery space, while the second and fourth floors have office space, and the third floor is a smart manufacturing facility and customer experience space. A Skytrack for vehicle test drives and testing has been installed on the 5th floor rooftop, and the first basement level and the 6th and 7th floors above ground are used as a parking lot.

HMGICS began operations early this year and is producing the IONIQ 5 and self-driving robotaxi, and has the capacity to produce more than 30,000 electric vehicles per year.

HMGICS is located in the city center, so it can respond quickly and nimbly to customer needs, and can flexibly respond to market changes and demands based on a human-centered manufacturing system that combines cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, information and communication technology (ICT), and robotics. It is characterized by having a small quantity production system for multiple vehicles.

In order to optimize production for various orders from customers, Hyundai Motor Group uses ‘Cell’ a flexible production method that can produce different types of mobility simultaneously instead of conveyor belts. The system was introduced into HMGICS.

Using this, workers and production robots can produce mobility to meet various vehicle demands in a single oval-shaped cell, and production planning and lead time can be shortened with optimized algorithms even if the number of vehicle models produced increases.

Hyundai Motor Group has established a data platform that can standardize and manage all information generated in the business area for flexible production. By building a 5G communication network throughout the building, we have also created an environment where data can be quickly transmitted and analyzed in real time.

In addition, we have built a ‘Digital Twin’ in a virtual 3D space, a Meta-Factory that can be simulated and controlled as if operating a real factory by recreating a twin factory. Increased efficiency throughout the process.

Using digital twin technology, it is possible to calculate optimized operation rates without piloting the actual process, and manufacturing and logistics processes can be easily managed without a physical visit.

The organic connection between robots and people is also a feature of HMGICS. Using digital twins, when workers give instructions in a virtual space, robots deployed in each process, such as parts, car body, and assembly, calculate the optimal timing and path and perform work.

Thanks to the active use of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and robotics throughout the process, workers are able to free themselves from repetitive and heavy tasks and focus on work that allows them to maximize their creativity.

Hyundai Motor Group plans to maximize production efficiency by gradually introducing the manufacturing platform developed and proven by HMGICS to new global electric vehicle plants, such as HMGMA (Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America) in Georgia, USA and the Ulsan EV plant in Korea, which is scheduled for completion in 2025. am.

In addition, Hyundai Motor Group plans to develop future mobility solutions, including Purpose-Based Mobility (PBV) and Future Air Mobility (AAM), and gradually develop HMGICS to secure manufacturing innovation technologies that lead the global automobile market.

“HMGICS is a smart urban mobility hub where urban infrastructure, mobility, and people are connected based on new concept technology solutions,” said Hong-beom Jeong, head of Hyundai Motor Group HMGICS. “It is a human-centered company that combines cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, information and communication technology, and robotics.” “‘s manufacturing system will become the new standard,” he said.