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Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Corporation today announced that they are partnering with KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), to develop next-generation autonomous driving sensors. Together, Hyundai Motor, Kia and KAIST will establish the ‘Hyundai Motor Group-KAIST On-Chip LiDAR Joint Research Lab’ at KAIST in Daejeon to develop LiDAR sensors for advanced autonomous vehicles.
The joint research lab aims to develop high-performance and compact on-chip sensors and new signal detection technology that are essential in the increasingly competitive autonomous driving market.
On-chip sensors, which utilise semiconductor manufacturing technology to add various functions, can reduce the size of LiDAR compared to conventional methods and secure price competitiveness through mass production using semiconductor fabrication processes.
In addition, the current LiDAR sensors measure the distance to objects by emitting and measuring the time it takes for light to return. However, the next-generation signal detection method, called Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW), emits light with a frequency that varies over time and analyses the frequency shift of the returning light to detect distance.
Compared to existing methods, this technology has less signal noise, can calculate relative speed with objects, and can exclude interference from external light sources such as sunlight, making it relatively advantageous in severe weather conditions.
The joint research lab will consist of about 30 researchers, including the Hyundai-Kia Institute of Advanced Technology Development research team and KAIST professors Sang-Hyeon Kim, Sangsik Kim, Wanyeong Jung and Hamza Kurt from KAIST’s School of Electrical Engineering, and will be in operation for four years until 2028.
KAIST will be leading the specialised work of each research team, such as the development of silicon optoelectronic on-chip LiDAR components, fabrication of high-speed, high-power integrated circuits to run the LiDAR systems, and the optimisation and verification of LiDAR systems.
Hyundai Motor and Kia, together with Hyundai NGV, a specialised industry-academia cooperation institution, will oversee the operation of the joint research lab and provide support, such as monitoring technological trends, suggesting research directions, deriving core ideas and recommending technologies and experts to enhance research capabilities.