Hyundai
Canvas Category OEM : Diversified
Hyundai Motor Company is striving to provide freedom of movement to everyone by investing in mobility services, by building close relationship with leading mobility service providers and expanding our role beyond the automotive transportation sector. The company will play a pivotal role in global society’s transition to clean energy by helping make hydrogen an economically viable energy source.
Assembly Line
Hyundai’s Wearable Robotic Shoulder Coming To A Mechanic Near You
Developed by Hyundai and Kia’s Robotics LAB, the X-ble Shoulder isn’t just another gimmicky piece of tech. It’s designed to actively assist workers who have their arms raised for extended periods, reducing shoulder load by up to 60%. For the anatomy enthusiasts, it also reduces anterior and lateral deltoid muscle activation by up to 30%. In other words, it lightens the load both literally and figuratively.
What’s really impressive here is the muscle compensation module that drives the X-ble Shoulder. This clever piece of tech can perform an astounding 700,000 folding and unfolding actions per year, so it’s built for endurance, not just a one-off task.
Obviously, no one’s going to want to work in a hulking exoskeleton all day, so Hyundai has ensured that this device won’t weigh you down. The X-ble Shoulder weighs in at just 1.9 kg (4.1 lbs), thanks to its carbon composite construction. It’s lightweight, adjustable, and designed to fit snugly without feeling like a straitjacket. It comes in two variants: the basic version offers up to 2.9 kgf of assistive force and is best for tasks where posture isn’t fixed, while the adjustable version delivers 3.7 kgf for those needing a bit more muscle.
And Hyundai’s not stopping at the shoulder. The Korean company is also working on an X-ble Waist to assist with lifting heavy loads and reduce back injuries, as well as an X-ble MEX, designed for the rehabilitation of the walking impaired. So, it looks like the future of wearable robots could be a lot more comprehensive than just helping you lift that engine block.
Introducing Industrial Wearable Robot 'X-ble Shoulder' | Hyundai Motor Group
Robotics engineers are in high demand — but what is the job really like?
Hyundai’s Controversial Alabama Plant Is Now Driving Its US Growth
Hyundai’s most productive car plant sits on a former cotton plantation on the southern edge of Montgomery, Alabama, where it pumps out Tucson crossovers, Santa Fe SUVs and other models on three shifts, 24 hours a day, sometimes seven days a week.
The Montgomery facility, which has become a model for other factories around the world, boasts one of the lowest ratios of workers per vehicle anywhere — about half that of its mother plant in South Korea. During a recent visit by Bloomberg, robots abounded and few workers were visible outside the confines of the final assembly line.
Hyundai proudly calls Montgomery “the birthplace of high productivity.” Nearly 500 robots are used on its assembly lines, speeding up production to one vehicle every 16 hours. That’s faster than the industry average, which can take up to 35 hours, according to JVIS-USA LLC.
“The plant is more automated than most, certainly in North America,” said Ron Harbour, former senior partner at Oliver Wyman and leading expert on manufacturing efficiency, noting that Hyundai also has gone to great lengths to minimize worker downtime. “So when you combine that with the automation, then they’ve always been one of the most productive.”
The high levels of reliance on Hyundai’s own industrial conglomerate, or chaebol, is another enduring source of tension. Rolled steel coils used to stamp out body panels are supplied by Hyundai Steel Co. Industrial robots painted bright yellow bear the logo of HD Hyundai Robotics. Bundles of components forming easy-to-install modules are provided around-the-clock by Hyundai Mobis Co. Shipper Hyundai Glovis Co. delivers many components and finished cars.
HD Hyundai, Google Cloud team up to accelerate generative AI innovation
HD Hyundai and Google Cloud have formed a strategic partnership to use the US firm’s multimodal AI model Gemini, unveiled earlier this month, across the Korean company’s core businesses, including shipbuilding, heavy machinery and energy. Under the partnership, Google Cloud will provide HD Hyundai with enterprise tools such as the Vertex AI platform to develop industry-specific AI applications. Starting in January 2024, HD Hyundai and Google Cloud will develop various AI solutions tailored to industry-specific needs and cultivate AI experts at the Korean conglomerate.
Inside Hyundai’s new sci-fi smart factory
The Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS, for short) isn’t just a firmware update of the traditional assembly line – it’s a futuristic (and mildly terrifying) look at our increasingly roboticized, AI-driven future. While Boston Dynamics’ Spot robot trots around to approve vehicles, a full digital twin of the factory floor runs simulations showing how the space can be better optimized. But arguably the most interesting thing is that you can order a new car at Hyundai’s plant and drive it away on the same day.
“This isn’t like a traditional production plant,” explains VP and Head of Smart Factory Technology, Alpesh Patel. “We plan to produce around 70 cars a day here, so it’s no mass production line, but that’s not the point. The speed at which we can react to customer personalization demands and cater to bespoke project requirements is like little else,” he adds. Patel claims that is can take as little as three hours to go from a customer ordering a vehicle to driving it away, thanks to the unique set-up of the highly automated cell-based production process.
Just a handful of highly skilled operatives work with walls of screens that can pull up a wealth of smart factory data, checking in on efficiency levels of each production cell and predicting when a robot requires servicing or a part needs to be ordered long before the need arises. A separate section of the room features a full digital twin of the factory floor (a meta factory, as it is referred to), which can run simulations when new production requirements arise. Patel claims that currently, staff in the Digital Command Centre are integral to the operation, but he states that AI will soon step up and begin taking care of most of the day-to-day functionality.
Supernal and Korean Air Announce Strategic Partnership to Spur Development of Advanced Air Mobility Vehicles and Operational Ecosystem
Supernal LLC – Hyundai Motor Group’s Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company – announced today a strategic partnership with Korean Air to help accelerate the design of an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle and the development of the AAM ecosystem in Korea. The collaboration adds to a growing list of Supernal partnerships that are advancing its mission to make AAM an efficient and reliable option for everyday transportation needs.
The companies will engage in a variety of activities as part of the partnership, including exchanging technical data and jointly participating in workshops and programs to help develop an AAM ecosystem that will support safe eVTOL operations. As part of the agreement, Korean Air will provide insights about Korean-market requirements and AAM aircraft specifications, informing Supernal’s product and market development strategies. The companies will also explore ways to effectively test the operation of Supernal’s eVTOL vehicle and AAM infrastructure networks.
Ford, Hyundai test Tesla supplier's Giga Press
Idra, an Italian aluminum casting machine maker and Tesla supplier, has added Ford, Hyundai and another European company to its customer base as more automakers explore this manufacturing technique. Tesla has pioneered the use of massive casting machines, also known as ‘Giga Presses,’ to make large single pieces of vehicle underbodies, streamline production and reduce the work even of robots.
The source said Idra was also about to sign a supply contract for two 9,000 presses with a premium automaker in Europe, its first with a European group. Sources said Volvo has purchased two Idra Giga Presses for their new plant in eastern Europe.
🗜️ Hyundai Rotem unveils ultra-large servo press line
Hyundai Rotem, a subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Group and a South Korean railway system manufacturer, announced on Thursday that it held a demonstration event of its next-generation servo press with a capacity of 6,800 tons for domestic and international customers at its Dangjin plant. Hyundai Rotem plans to deliver the servo press to Hyundai Motor’s electric car factory in the state of Georgia in the United States.
“Through the introduction of the ultra-large servo press, we have gained a technological advantage in the automotive production equipment market,” a company source said. “Through continuous research and development, we aim to capture a significant portion of the global press market.”
Tenstorrent Raises a $100M Strategic Up-round Co-led by Hyundai Motor Group and the Samsung Catalyst Fund
Tenstorrent is pleased to announce that it closed a $100M strategic financing up-round led by Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung Catalyst Fund, with participation from Fidelity Ventures, Eclipse Ventures, Epiq Capital, Maverick Capital, and more.
Tenstorrent sells AI processors and licenses AI and RISC-V IP to customers that want to own and customize their silicon. Both Hyundai Motor Group and Samsung have a strong history of product leadership and enjoy massive success in their respective markets.
Hyundai Steel unveils steel sheets with 30% reduction in carbon emissions
South Korean steelmaker Hyundai Steel Co. announced Tuesday it succeeded in the pilot manufacturing of advanced auto steel sheets using an electric furnace. Thanks to the electric furnace, carbon emissions were reduced by more than 30% when compared to a conventional method that uses iron ore and coal in furnaces. Direct-reduced iron (DRI) is produced from the direct reduction of iron ore into metallic iron by the way of decreasing gas or elemental carbon produced from natural gas or coal.
Hyundai Motor’s Alabama plant: World’s second most productive
At Hyundai’s Alabama plant, it took 24.02 hours to fully assemble a vehicle, more productive than 28.71 hours at General Motors’ Fairfax plant, 29.99 hours at GM’s Lansing Delta assembly plant, and 31.92 hours at Toyota Motor’s Georgetown plant, according to the consulting firm.
Hyundai’s US plant is also more productive than its main Korean manufacturing plant in Ulsan in terms of units produced per hour. Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama LLC (HMMA) produces 68 cars an hour, compared with 45 cars at Hyundai’s Ulsan plant, according to the auto industry.
Hyundai Motor to set up metaverse factory with Unity
Hyundai Motor Co., South Korea’s top automaker, is set to establish a digital virtual factory in a metaverse space with Unity, a US-based real-time 3D content platform, in order to become a smart mobility solutions provider through upgrades of plant operations and production innovations. The partnership is expected to realize Hyundai’s vision of becoming the first mobility innovator to build a Meta-Factory concept, a digital twin of an actual plant, supported by a metaverse platform.
The automaker plans to first apply the concept to Hyundai Mobility Global Innovation Center in Singapore (HMGICS), supporting Hyundai Motor Group’s initiative to create an open innovation hub for research and development. The group earlier planned to adopt digital twin technology to HMGICS’ design sector.
Can Boston Dynamics’ Robots Spot And Stretch Make It Profitable?
Hyundai Motor Group x Boston Dynamics Factory Safety Service Robot
Exploring Additive Manufacturing Opportunities: Optimizing Production with Hyundai Lifeboats
This project was the epitome of Explore. Just as myself, Director of Innovation at Materialise, and others from the Mindware team, had no experience or knowledge of producing lifeboats, the Hyundai team was unaware of the capabilities and limitations of 3D printing. So, the first step in this project was bringing our two worlds together to pinpoint a relevant business challenge for Hyundai Lifeboats that we believed could best be solved via additive manufacturing.
Easier said than done. We dove into an interactive workshop session in which we discovered each side’s perspectives, expectations, and blind spots. We first discussed how AM could increase the boat’s value — with enhanced speed, performance, functionality — but we were met with hesitancy from the Hyundai team.
MakinaRocks raises $10M in Series A
MakinaRocks, an industrial AI solutions startup aiming to revolutionize the world of manufacturing, announced today that it has successfully raised $10 million in Series A funding from prestigious global investors. MakinaRocks expects to use the funds to expand the company’s portfolio and develop a Software as a Service (SaaS) platform built on the existing on-premise solutions to secure domestic and international customers. The company is actively hiring skilled individuals in data analysis, AI development, and business development.
From apple juice to antibiotics: Coronavirus epidemic could cause U.S. shortages
The toll of the ongoing coronavirus epidemic in human life is already devastating enough. But as quarantines continue in China, it looks like the global economic impact of the virus could be incredibly destructive too.
China is a manufacturing superpower, supplying both critical equipment and items of convenience. With some of the country’s citizens unable to report to work and exports curtailed, there are already shortages that have some companies worried.