Hyundai Unveils Smart City of the Future at World Smart City Expo

Hyundai Motor Group has presented its idea of a smart city of the future in South Korea.

The automaker’s radical vision was showcased at the World Smart City Expo 2024 (WSCE) being held at the KINTEX exhibition center in Ilsanseo-gu, in the city of Goyang.

WSCE was first held in 2017 and is sponsored by the Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, and the Ministry of Science and ICT. 

The event has evolved as a leading showcase for the latest ideas about technologies, policies and solutions for smart cities, but 2024 marks the first year that the country’s auto manufacturing giant has participated.

And Hyundai certainly made an impact with its interpretation of a future city where technology is said to seamlessly integrate three core elements: space, mobility and energy.

The physical display, titled “Inspiring Human Progress” occupied a 9,600-square-foot exhibition hall divided into three themes: Transportation, Logistics and Robotics and Energy and Infrastructure.

It was accompanied by the release of a film that served to illustrate the sheer scale of the company’s ambition and the size of its operation, featuring a host of technologies in several different areas, developed with a huge supporting cast of partners.

Among the solutions Hyundai promoted in the hall itself was DICE, a personal mobility platform that provides customized services for individuals via artificial intelligence. Its three-sided display is said to allow for “a more immersive travel experience.”

Related:Hyundai’s Flying Vehicle Unveiled at CES 2024

Also showcased in the Transportation Zone was the SA-2 eVTOL, first revealed at CES in January, which is being developed by Hyundai’s advanced air mobility division, Supernal. Capable of flying at up to 124 mph and at a height of up to 1,600 feet in cities, SA-2 is being readied for commercialization in 2028.

A third highlight of the Transportation Zone was Hyundai’s SPACE-Mobility public transit system, which enables those with restricted movement to enjoy easier mobility through its clever use of space, customized seats and easy boarding and alighting.

In the Logistics and Robotics Zone, showgoers had the opportunity to see City Pod, an unmanned, hydrogen-powered logistics mobility device designed to be used for the transportation of goods, or transfer of waste on industrial sites.

It was accompanied by the Parking Robot solution, a pair of thin, wide robots designed to go under a vehicle and lift the wheels, allowing it to be parked anywhere.

Also on display was Easy Swap, a technology that allows different modules to be attached to a fixed ‘driver’ platform, enabling it to be easily transformed from an office to a limousine to a camper van, for example.

Related:Boston Dynamics’ Spot: The Design Behind the Robot Dog

And there were also appearances from robot dog Spot – developed by Boston Dynamics, which is owned by Hyundai – and the DAL-e delivery robot, which features facial recognition tech and autonomous mobility.

The Energy and Infrastructure Zone, meanwhile, demonstrates that a smart city need not eschew nature, featuring a park where people can stroll amid relaxing greenery, while beneath it there is an underground space focused on providing the infrastructure that helps deliver Hyundai’s high-tech solutions. 

Following WSCE, Hyundai says its next step will be to actually build a smart city platform, although it has not put a time frame on when we can expect to see this.