• Under the theme ‘Heartwarming Technology,’ Hyundai’s R&D employees generate ideas for future mobility solutions to benefit the socially disadvantaged
• Now in its 14th year, the R&D employees presented concepts that are either production-ready or based on future mobility scenarios
• Ideas discovered through the festival can lead to patent applications, mass-production applications and startup spin-offs
• Hyundai Motor Group to continue expanding the competition to foster a creative R&D culture

Hyundai Motor Group (the Group) held the main round of 2023 IDEA Festival at the Group’s Namyang Research & Development (R&D) Center, where employees proposed innovative concepts for future mobility solutions to benefit the disadvantaged.

Now in its 14th year, the IDEA Festival has been held annually since 2010 to promote the Group’s creative research culture and encourage employees’ enthusiasm and creativity.  

The theme of this year’s IDEA Festival was ‘Heartwarming Technology that Changes the World.’ From May to September, the Group received proposals for concepts that would bring value to underprivileged and socially disadvantaged groups through future mobility technologies. Fifteen teams participated in the main round, presenting ideas that are designed to make a positive impact on society.

Nine of the teams presented concepts in the Production category, where they turned ideas into reality, and the six other teams presented concepts in the Scenario category, where they proposed future mobility solutions through storytelling.

The Group supported all finalists with production costs and production space, and each team had about five months to turn their ideas into reality and scenarios.

The Production category included: a mobile artificial kidney unit using vehicle-to-load (V2L) and vehicle-to-hospital (V2H) communication; Orbit, a water rescue mobility to secure ‘golden hour’; blind-spot pedestrian-accident-prevention technology using ultra-wide-band (UWB) communication; digital side mirror (DSM) sign-language-communication system for the hearing impaired; Vehicle-to-Go (V2GO), which enables vehicle air conditioning to be used in outdoor environments; and Haptic Navigator, which makes it easier for the visually impaired to use public transport.

The Scenario category included: Pregnantable (pregnant + comfortable), a car subscription service tailored for pregnant women; Drunk Hunter, an AI-based active drunk-driving-prediction-and-prevention system; technology to improve mobility for wheelchair users using shared kickboards; and technology to create a social safety net to prevent safety accidents in dead zones.

In the Production category, the China R&D center presented a voice control system, a driver health system and a service using a camera in a vehicle. In the Scenario category, they presented a travel service for the visually impaired and a mobility solution that can be used on land, sea and air.

After each team’s presentation, a panel of staff judges led by the head of the R&D organization, President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) Yong Hwa Kim of Hyundai Motor Group, evaluated the entries on novelty and completeness, and the final ranking was based on the number of YouTube ‘likes’ the entries received.

As a result, 'Daisy' by H-sense team took home the top honor in the Production category, winning the grand prize of KRW 10 million and a trip to CES 2024. Meanwhile 'Snow White and Fairy Quick' by Friendly Brother and Sister team took home the top honor in the Scenario category, winning the grand prize of KRW 5 million and a trip to Asia region to explore overseas technology.

“The IDEA Festival is the result of our employees thinking deeply about how mobility can have a positive impact,” said CTO Kim. “We will continue to operate the competition and expand into more opportunities to foster a creative R&D culture.”

Researchers’ ideas discovered at the IDEA Festival can lead to patent applications, mass-production applications and startup spin-offs. For example, the ‘Bilateral Multi-Console’ recently introduced in the new SANTA FE originated as the ‘multi-function console’ idea that won the top prize at IDEA Festival 2021. It is now in production.