Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Corporation and Samsung Electronics Wednesday announced a strategic technology partnership to enhance the integration between software-defined vehicles (SDVs) and smartphones, aiming to secure a leading position in the mobility service ecosystem.
The signing ceremony was held at Samsung Electronics’ Seoul R&D Campus, with Samsung’s participants including Paul (Kyungwhoon) Cheun, President, CTO of Device experience (DX) Division and Head of Samsung Research; Seungbeom Choi, Executive Vice President and Head of Device Platform Center; and Chanwoo Park, Executive Vice President and Head of IoT R&D Team. Participants from Hyundai and Kia included Chang Song, President and Head of Hyundai Motor Group Advanced Vehicle Platform (AVP) Division and Haeyoung Kwon, Vice President and Head of Hyundai Motor Group Infotainment Development Center.
What does it contain for customers?
Hyundai Motor and Kia will develop technology to organically link SDVs and the smartphone ecosystem using Samsung Electronics’ ‘SmartThings’. By integrating with the global Internet of Things (IoT) platform, they aim to enrich customers’ mobility experiences, seamlessly connecting the entire process of vehicle use to smartphones and accelerating the transition to true SDVs.
Through this connectivity, Hyundai Motor, Kia and Samsung Electronics will introduce a service for vehicle location verification. It will be expanded and advanced through integration with ‘SmartThings Find,’ offering a global vehicle location tracking service. The service is accessible via a crowdsourced network of hundreds of millions of Samsung Galaxy devices that use Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) technology to report their location, without restrictions related to cellular coverage.
Customers can easily check their vehicle’s location through the Connected Car Service app in unexpected situations, such as forgetting where they parked or in case of theft. Even Hyundai or Kia customers whose vehicles aren’t registered with the Connected Car Service can check the location through the Samsung SmartThings app. Hyundai Motor and Kia will also simplify the new member registration process by linking user accounts with Samsung Electronics.
Additionally, drivers can use their Galaxy’s Quick Panel to control air conditioning and check their remaining range from their device. Vehicles can also be added to the connected SmartThings ecosystem, allowing users to return to a home with optimized conditions by controlling their Samsung air conditioners, air purifiers or other connected devices while driving home.
What Next?
In the future, companies plan to provide services optimized for customers’ lifestyles and tastes, such as healthcare, pet care and vehicle interiors, and continue to cooperate with Samsung Electronics to provide new mobility experiences.
Hyundai Motor and Kia, together with 42dot, plan to seamlessly connect vehicles and smartphones and continuously introduce new services, aiming to make all daily experiences user-centered. They also plan to continuously develop services for convenient and enjoyable mobility experiences by sharing vehicle data application programming interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs) with various business partners, including Samsung Electronics, through the next-generation infotainment system based on an open ecosystem.
Hyundai Motor and Kia, together with 42dot, plan to seamlessly connect vehicles and smartphones and continuously introduce new services, aiming to make all daily experiences user-centered. They also plan to continuously develop services for convenient and enjoyable mobility experiences by sharing vehicle data application programming interfaces (APIs) and software development kits (SDKs) with various business partners, including Samsung Electronics, through the next-generation infotainment system based on an open ecosystem.