Hyundai will build the all-electric Ioniq 5 robotaxi it has developed alongside autonomous technology company Motional at the new Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center in Singapore.
The new facility, known as HMGICS, was opened at the start of the week and serves as the new smart urban mobility hub for the car manufacturer. Hyundai’s new innovation center combines the efforts of workers with advanced robotics and artificial intelligence and consists of a seven-story, 86,900-square-meter facility that has the ability to produce up to 30,000 electric vehicles each year.
Road-going Ioniq 5s are already being built at the site and the first Ioniq 5 robotaxis assembled there will be deployed across the U.S. from next year as part of Motional’s commercial services program. The two companies have also revealed that the Ioniq 5 robotaxi has just been certified as an SAE Level 4 autonomous vehicle under the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards.
“HMGICS is a vision for transportation innovation,” Motional president and chief executive Karl Iagnemma said. “We’re enormously proud to have the IONIQ 5 robotaxi manufactured at this facility and look forward to introducing the world to some of the first-ever FMVSS-certified autonomous vehicles. It’s through the strength of our collaboration with Hyundai that we were able to develop an industry-leading robotaxi that meets rigorous federal standards and is ready for mass commercialization.”
Watch: See How Motional’s Autonomous Hyundai Ioniq 5 Robotaxi Safely Drives In Las Vegas
The innovation center in Singapore adopts a cell-based production system rather than a traditional conveyer-belt manufacturing approach. Approximately 50% of all tasks are carried out by robots and the site includes a digital twin platform that synchronizes the virtual and physical worlds in real time. For example, employees can simulate tasks in the digital space while robots physically move components on the production line.
Hyundai has even incorporated a Smart Farm into the facility. This farm produces nine different crops, some of which will be donated to local communities in Singapore while others will be added to the menu of a tasting lounge and a farm-to-table restaurant set to open in the second quarter of next year.
