Hyundai Motor of Korea and Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University, or NTU have signed an agreement to carry out four pilot projects to develop advanced technologies for smart manufacturing facilities for EV, or electric vehicles.

Under the terms of the agreement, they will also embark on R&D projects to develop future mobility solutions.

Focusing on Industry 4.0 technologies, these projects aim to develop advanced solutions that can transform conventional car manufacturing facilities into state-of-the-art smart factories of the future.

Both of the two entities will embark on the initial stage of the pilot R&D projects starting from this month, tapping into the possible application of AI, or artificial intelligence and 3D additive manufacturing solutions for EV production lines.

Researches on the AI solution will focus on AI-based image processing sensors that can help detect defects and anomalies occurring at EV battery cells during the manufacturing processes of cars.

When it comes to the 3D printing or additive manufacturing solution, the project will explore the way of whether it can be integrated into the production line of EV to customize parts and components to customers’ choice or preference.

The signing ceremony follows an earlier announcement made in October 2020 during the virtual groundbreaking ceremony for Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre in Singapore (HMGICS). During the ceremony, NTU was announced as the first academic research partner for the Group’s HMGICS initiative.

 NTU Senior Vice President (Research) Professor Lam Khin Yong and Hyundai Motor Group Senior Vice President Hong Bum Jung signed the collaboration agreement at a ceremony held at NTU on Sep 1.

NTU President Professor Subra Suresh said, “The partnership between NTU and Hyundai Motor Group provides one more example of how our close collaboration with industry plays an important role in developing relevant solutions to address real world 2 issues. This is in line with the NTU 2025 strategic plan, which aims to address some of the grand challenges facing humanity. This collaboration with Hyundai Motor Group will build on NTU’s core strengths, in areas such as additive manufacturing, AI, autonomous and electric vehicles, and big data to bring about benefits to the automotive industry, Singapore and the global society.”

The signing ceremony follows an earlier announcement made in October 2020 during the virtual groundbreaking ceremony for Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Centre in Singapore (HMGICS). During the ceremony, NTU was announced as the first academic research partner for the Group’s HMGICS initiative.

President & Chief Innovation Officer of Hyundai Motor Group, Youngcho Chi said, “HMGICS aims to build an ecosystem for the future mobility industry based on open innovation. We are going to strengthen collaboration with NTU and develop advanced solutions to revolutionize future mobility value chain going forward.”

The HMGICS is an open research facility for the Group’s future mobility research and development. Located at Singapore’s Jurong Innovation District, the construction of HMGICS is expected to be completed at the end of 2022.

The facility will only be five minute drive from the NTU Smart Campus, which is a living testbed of innovative digital and tech-enabled solutions.