Kia and Hyundai Promote ZER01NE Creative Platform at 2023 Consumer Electronics Show
In 2020, the Kia Corporation (part of the Hyundai Motor Group, HMG) announced its plans to put together groups of startups to help them move forward with new technologies and car applications. These included autonomous vehicle business, fuel cell business, smart factory, and smart city solutions. Called “ ZER01NE”, the program started in 2018, and since then, 125 teams from 11 affiliates of the Group and 115 startups have worked together on 97 collaborative projects. Startups looking to join ZER01NE would be working with R&D on one of ten themes: data, user experience, human machine interface, mobility, charging, robotics, smart factory, logistics, healthcare, and materials. In 2020 and again in 2022, startups were invited to apply to the ZER01NE programs . Now in 2023, during the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Kia and HMG want to show us the innovative startups they’re working with and what technologies they will be bringing to the auto industry.
“Many of the disruptive breakthroughs that are shaping the transformation of mobility are coming from startups operating outside the automotive industry. Therefore, it is essential that Hyundai Motor Group leaves no avenue unexplored when researching future technologies,” – Dr. Yunseong Hwang, Vice President and Head of Open Innovation Execution Group at Hyundai Motor Group
Going through several revisions, the ZER01NE finally settled on 38 projects designed by the Group’s internal teams, following seven key themes: auto tech, in-car user experience (UX), charging, mobility services, smart logistics, smart construction, and materials. Ten startup companies in total were formed and/or selected to work on the new projects. At CES, the ZER01NE Pavilion features an open-plan layout with four zones dedicated to different facets of the program. In the Startup Zone, we have the ten startup companies – five of these come from startups admitted into the ZER01NE Accelerator program, and the remaining five startups were formed internally by Kia and HMG.
The five startups selected for the ZER01NE Accelerator program under the ZER01NE Team are eMOTIV, 60Hz, Argosvision, Cellplus Korea, and XYZ. Formed internally, the ZER01NE Company Builder program presented VODA AI, Difon, Fittrix, Wondermove, and AutoL. In the Startup Zone, each of the ten startups has its own individual exhibition area to put on display what’s currently in development. Personnel will be there to discuss current projects and offer additional data, and there will also be an INGO Zone with Q&A sessions for all the little details.
This year, the selection of startups have a lot already going for them. eMotiv develops digital therapeutics for children with ADHD to improve attention and performance using mobile games and AI, with plans to expand to people with autism and dementia. 60Hertz uses technologies such as AI, Big Data, and Cloud to run its Virtual Power Plant (VPP) software that connects and manages renewable energy power plants (solar and wind), and distributed energy resources such as EV, ESS, and fuel cells. ArgosVision developed an ultra-wide 3D depth camera to provide a human-like wide field of view for the future of robotics where humans and robots can interact on some level. Cellplus has a focus on autonomous vehicles, develops cameras, ISP, autonomous sensors, car platforms, and ultra-fast interfaces that can very well be the beginning of smart cars. XYZ is a service robot startup that applies AI and robotics technology to provide products and services to help people with valuable tasks in their everyday life. Want to learn more about what the Hyundai Motor Group and Kia are working on? Follow along with us on Miami Lakes Automall social media .
Photo Source/Copyright: Kia Media
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