2017 Smart Car Symposium

As the countries around the world are focusing and cultivating smart cars as future growth engines, Korea is also making various efforts at the government and private level. However, experts point out that the prejudice that `smart cars` are the same as self-driving cars’ and that government support projects that are concentrated only on SMEs may prevent various possibilities of the smart car market.

In the `2017 Smart Car Symposium’ hosted by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, and held at Digital Times headquarters in Chungjung-ro, Seoul on April 25, experts from various fields reviewed the concept of smart cars as future growth engines and point out that the smart car concept reestablishment and practical eco-system establishment for the smart car is in need.

They also expressed concern that in the case of smart cars were only recognized as self-driving car, they could prevent market growth and industry should pay attention to the possibility of various services based on connectivity. Considering the characteristics of the automobile industry, it takes a considerable time to fully autonomously travel, but from the service point of view, there is an unlimited market for commercialization.

In addition, experts have pointed out that a control tower should be created to oversee government agencies related to smart cars that are currently scattered across various ministries, raising the need for the government, private sector, and academia to organically cultivate related industries.


- Host = Smart car is emerging as the key power in the era of the fourth industrial revolution. It seems that a clear concept of smart car has not been established yet.

◇ Ho Geon-su= Let us make exact term first. The term ‘smart car’ is used only in Korea. A term of ‘intelligent car’ is used in foreign countries. It seems to be called smart car because of smartphone. Intelligent cars are largely divided into self-driving car and connected cars. Some people think that smart cars are self-driving cars, but they are quite different. Self-driving cars are just one part of smart cars.

◇ Oh Sae-il= From this point of view, the smart car itself may be defined as a car or a wheeled computer. It is likely to be seen as a means of transportation with self-propelled technology and a car that offers many services constantly.

◇ Ho Geon-su = People talk about self-driving often, but it is not so close. It depends on the level, but if we say the word ‘self-driving’, it would be a term on quite further future.

◇ Choi Gang-rim= Smart cars are not a new concept. Twenty years ago, there was a similar development and evolving. In the ICT industry, as the software and communication develops and the performance improves, not only the technology itself develops in the car itself, but the new service that connects cars and infrastructure is getting attention.

◇ Om Jae-yeong= It is defined as a smart car that is linked to the environment by considering three points of view: an environmental car that considers energy efficiency and environment, a self-driving car whose safety is top priority, and a connected car that is a connecting path in a smart society. Self-driving is also part of smart cars.


-Host= Various smart car models are under development and are being introduced. How can smart cars change our lives?

◇ Lee Jae-gwan= There are three themes of smart cars from this year`s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) and Mobile World Congress (MWC). Automobile data and software are expanding from inside to outside. There is a feature to link artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud service. Also, the boundaries of self-driving are disappearing. The convergence of connected platforms based on a self mobile platform may lead people to misunderstand self-driving as a smart car. There are some entities that do service business with self-driving cars. The premise is that the infrastructure is built and integrated management is performed in specific areas such as campus, park, and silver town.

◇ Ho Geon-su= Connected cars are very popular in exhibitions. The IT integration is going faster than expected. The connected car will grow, but we do not know if a consumer wants those cars. There are many things that are unclear about how the driver should take the business model as the definition of what connectivity the passenger wants is unclear. It is also questionable whether the car needs to be turned on and off at home. In the case of self-driving car, there are 1 to 5 levels depending of the car. And so far self-driving cars in level 2 has been commercialized. The self-driving car in our imagination, which takes us in the morning to a company and send us back to house after work in the evening, is unlikely to be seen in the near future.

◇ Lee Jae-gwan=The English futurist Ray Harman predicts full self-driving cars as 2035. In other words, it means that there is no interest.


-Host= How about Korea?

◇ Om Jae-yeong= A few days ago, Hyundai Motor was midway to the top of the list of 18 companies in the US Navigant Research report. There is a fairly subjective aspect. I think it is equivalent to other cars. However, merchandising is not an aggressive rush for verification since safety is a top priority.

◇ Choi Gang-rim= There is an optical illusion. IT is not ahead of traditional car makers, or marketing battles are fierce. It is a characteristic of IT companies to show their potential. Manufacturers should emphasize safety, not possibilities. Although, working with Hyundai as well as global manufacturers, there are similar required specifications.

◇ Lee Jae-gwan= The approaches of IT companies and automobile companies are different. In the case of a finished car, there is nothing to lose. In the case of successful self-driving, brand image will increase, but in the case of accident, there is a serious blow to brand image. Google and Tesla have nothing to lose.

◇ Ho Geon-su= Level 3 is the question of how aggressive the driver will react when a dangerous situation arises, allowing the driver to drive. It is different from person to person. For Ford, 90% of the engineers were said to be slept during test. There is a question of how to do things that do not allow sleeping.

◇ Choi Gang-rim= Automakers have no choice but to look conservative. However, it is better communication and IT than commercial car to communicate with customers at the point of contact and commercialize in the shortest time that IT and communication should be recognized. Consumers have to see what they want or want to pay for, which is where communication is best. I think it is the role of IT and telecom companies to advance the era of self-navigation.

◇ Lee Jae-gwan= We do not have to be too obsessed with the level. The market for self-driving service in a private segment or a specific segment can come up rather quickly, which is a service view rather than a car manufacturer.


-Host= What kind of support is required from Government?

◇ Ho Geon-su= A car needs a lot of parts. Because the car manufacturer cannot handle it all, it has to cooperate with many part suppliers. The bigger is the research and development itself, but the smaller the place, the lack of money and the lack of manpower. Also, they have to think about how to support mid-sized companies and SMEs to have global competitiveness.

◇ Choi Gang-rim= It is important for medium-sized companies to have core technology, and it is hard to get support when Hyundai or KT challenges new things with regard to cars. (Large corporations) should be supported. KT`s Alliance program includes more than 500 SMEs. Large companies and medium-sized companies should go in a direction that can cooperate and commercialize.

◇ Lee Jae-gwan= Large companies need to be actively involved in order to do their part. Eventually, it is related to the National Assembly. Although, Hyundai Motor is at a global level, it is not world-class yet in car part sector. It is really serious in the case of SME and medium-sized companies. With the change of the era, smart cars have been undergoing global unification, such as the acquisition of Mobileye by Intel but we are blocking that develoment.

◇ Ah Sae-il= In recent years, there is a convergence, we want to combine the best technology of manufacturing technology and IT that we have. Although, Samsung and Hyundai were in a competitive relationship, I think they can have good outcomes now as they have an atmosphere to cooperate.

◇ Choi Gang-rim= The manpower is really desperate. It is important not only for traditional mechanical engineering and electrical engineering, but also for legal and institutional problems, user environment, and experience (UI • UX) that should be applied to car engineering departments.

◇ Om Jae-yeong= Hyundai Mobis and Mando are also world-class. Although they are lagging behind to Bosch and Continental, they is rapidly developing into a global company. Also, sensor development is a core technology, not a technology that can be easily developed. Localization will strengthen competitiveness.

-Host=The presidential candidates are emphasizing the 4th Industrial Revolution, AI, Internet of Things (IoT) and smart cars. What challenges should the next government solve?

◇ Choi Gang-rim= It is not easy to go to the first component supplier (Tier 1) to cultivate a venture in the automobile industry to promote SMEs and youth jobs. In reality, it is not a traditional manufacturing perspective, but an ecosystem created from the viewpoint of smart cars, and large companies and medium-sized companies should naturally cooperate.

◇ Oh Sae-il= The smart car support itself is scattered across multiple departments, and a control tower is required. With the advent of smartphones in the past, traditional cell phone manufacturers such as Nokia have been down. The industrial structure is focused on large corporations, and if we talk about convergence with Hyundai Motor until last year, they said why. Now, it is convinced of the convergence with IT technology, but there is still sense of rejection. The next government should create a horizontal ecosystem to overcome these problems.

◇ Om Jae-yeong= It is necessary to nurture car parts companies, professional talents and infrastructure. Parts are risky and must go systematically and practically under government support. There is a saying about where to use the result of university-industry project, but it depends on the person. Depending on how you manage your assignments, the outcome and utilization of your work will vary. Investing in venture companies is the same. It depends on how the first and second parts makers use it. Infrastructure is important not only for eco-friendly car charging infrastructure, but also for communication infrastructure, lanes and road maintenance. Basically, it is hard to drive a smart car if the road is difficult for people to drive.

◇ Lee Jae-gwan= Personal information, location information, and various image information are used as assets to create new services and protection law on those assets is required. The name should be changed around revitalization of industry rather than regulation.

◇ Ho Geon-su= Although, convergence is also necessary, security is important as cars have safety issues. Smart cars should be implemented in automobiles. Developing technologies related to smart cars in the absence of conglomerates, is problematic. It is not easy to win in competition with foreign companies unless large companies actively participate. I hope that large companies can build R & D centers around SMEs.

By Park Jung Il comja77@


Participants:
Om Jae-yeong - Hyundai Motor R & D Center, Quality Promotion Committee
Oh Sae-il - Head of Strategic Planning Division, Intelligent Auto Parts Promotion Agency
Lee Jae-gwan - Head of Smart Vehicle Technology Research Division, Korea Automotive Technology Institute
Ho Geon-su – Professor of Future Automobile Engineering Department at Hanyang University
Choi Gang-rim – Managing director of KT Connected Car Project
Host=Lee Geun-hyung Head of Digital Times Division



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