2024.04.11 Hyundai AutoEver
Hyundai Autoever's Smart Home Platform Ushers in a Seamless Daily Life
In a world where homes, cars, and people are seamlessly connected, Hyundai Autoever's smart home platform dreams of a future where everything in everyday life is interconnected through advanced information and communication technologies.
Imagine coming home after a long day. If the space meant to provide peace of mind is filled with cold and darkness, one might hesitate to enter. However, if a smart home welcomes you by warming up and lighting the house, and activating the air purifier as you approach, the narrative changes. A smart home becomes the most intelligent companion in daily life within the home, automatically activating functions upon verbal requests, such as asking for tomorrow's weather or the current time. You can control various devices directly through a smartphone while sitting on the sofa, or let the home autonomously create an environment tailored to one's lifestyle.
The convenient life with a smart home is not a future scene confined to movies; it's a present reality we can enjoy. A smart home delivers an astonishing experience where homes, electronic devices, the internet, mobile phones, and cars transcend physical boundaries to become unified. Hyundai AutoEver, a global ICT service specialist, has successfully developed such a smart home platform based on its diverse IT technical capabilities accumulated over the years. Thanks to various developmental know-how gained across multiple industries like mobility, construction, and components, Hyundai AutoEver's smart home platform offers unique conveniences unavailable in other platforms, garnering positive feedback from its customers.
In the past, the primary role of a home was to protect us from the cold and heat, providing a comfortable sleeping space and a cozy place for relaxation. As time progressed and various technologies evolved, with electronic appliances beginning to embrace impressive functionalities, homes were required to be smarter for the sake of human convenience. The integration of sensors and other devices into home appliances and systems marked the beginning of the foundation for smart homes.
The emergence of the internet accelerated the development of smart homes into what is known as the "Internet of Things (IoT)." IoT refers to the technology that enables communication connections between people and objects or among objects themselves by incorporating information and communication functions into various devices. Sensors, communication networks, data processing, and cloud computing are among the core technological areas of IoT. The application of IoT in homes has heralded the era of fully-fledged smart homes.
Today's smart homes go beyond IoT, encompassing even more diverse functionalities. The introduction of reliable partners like AI speakers and smartphones, a product of the internet era, has improved usage methods and enhanced convenience in smart homes. Additionally, the scalability of internet networks allows smart homes to integrate seamlessly with mobility. Nowadays, car manufacturers, smart home system developers, and construction companies collaborate to provide a lifestyle where the transition from home to car and vice versa is interconnected. With the continuous advancement of smart home technology, the importance of a platform to centrally coordinate and convey commands has grown.
In 2018, Hyundai AutoEver launched the Living & Life Smart Home Platform, combining IoT and AI technology. Hyundai AutoEver's smart home platform provides extensive services covering home electronics, home networks, communal areas in apartment complexes, and community centers, offering high convenience. It also features Car-to-Home/Home-to-Car functions that link Hyundai Motor Group's vehicles with homes, delivering a seamless daily experience between homes and cars. Hyundai AutoEver's smart home platform has been recognized for its excellence, winning first place in the Smart Home Category in the Premium Brand Index evaluation conducted by the Korea Standards Association in August 2023. In February of the same year, the platform reached a milestone with 100,000 installed households.
Hyundai AutoEver's smart home platform is divided into three main technical parts: home networking and IoT, control of communal facilities and concierge services, and Car-to-Home/Home-to-Car. Home networking and IoT connect internal and external devices of households where the smart home platform is applied via the internet network to control and monitor them.
Previously, using electronic devices and AI speakers from different manufacturers and telecommunications companies together posed limitations due to restricted interoperability. This inconvenience was contrary to the essence of smart homes, which emphasize connectivity. To overcome this, Hyundai AutoEver developed a platform service that integrates and links services from various manufacturers. This allows built-in appliances, home networks, and communal areas to be controlled with a single mobile app or AI speaker.
The exclusive mobile application for the smart home platform not only enables control of various devices in the house via a smartphone but also provides services related to communal areas such as elevator calls and unmanned parcel notifications, as well as household services like parking location checks and vehicle registrations. The app also allows users to access announcements, news, and resident support services for the entire apartment complex.
For those who find using mobile apps cumbersome, smart voice recognition devices can be utilized. 'VoiceHome,' an AI cloud-based voice recognition service named after it, provides all the features of the smart home platform through users' voices alone. Saying the wake word 'Hi Aladdin' and issuing a command prompts the built-in speakers in the home to recognize and execute the function.
VoiceHome boasts a voice recognition rate of 93% and can clearly recognize commands from a distance. It features continuous speech processing that accurately distinguishes between wake words and commands even when spoken simultaneously, and a spatial recognition ability that responds accurately even when room names are omitted. By complementing mobile apps, VoiceHome enhances user convenience with its exceptional voice recognition experience.
Additionally, Hyundai Autoever's smart home platform has introduced AI Smart Mirrors for its customers' well-being. AI Smart Mirrors, which merge mirrors with IT technology, offer various information and services. Positioned around the house, these smart mirrors can measure health status, manage hygiene, and assist in home workouts.
Moreover, the smart mirrors are connected to the mobile app, allowing users to access various information on their smartphones. For instance, data recorded during a workout with a smart mirror at home is analyzed by the mirror, and the linked mobile app can recommend new exercises or provide health management guidance based on this data.
While the home network leverages the Internet of Things (IoT) to ensure a comfortable life within the home, the communal facility control and concierge services focus on enhancing community life within the complex. Users can utilize the smart home platform's mobile app to book and manage community facilities within the apartment complex, such as golf ranges, saunas, fitness centers, and study rooms, making it easy to reserve and enjoy various community facilities from the comfort of their home. Although community facilities may vary by apartment complex, the mobile app's features are tailored to each residential complex, making it conveniently accessible to everyone.
The unmanned laundry service, launched in 2023, utilizes existing unmanned parcel lockers within the complex for laundry services, drawing high resident engagement. Users simply select a parcel locker through the mobile app, place their laundry in it, and a laundry specialist collects and returns the items clean.
This service has been praised for enhancing resident convenience by eliminating the need to visit a laundry shop and allowing the service to be used within the complex itself. Moreover, since this service does not require additional installations, it benefits both the construction companies and the residents, making it a win-win service. Hyundai Autoever plans to continue launching various online and offline services to improve residents' living experiences.
Car-to-Home and Home-to-Car, the final key features, represent technologies that allow for the control of home appliances from the car and vice versa, marking a cornerstone feature of connected cars. Hyundai Autoever introduced these features to the smart home platform to enhance customer satisfaction by strengthening the connectivity between living spaces and vehicles.
Users can utilize Car-to-Home functions from their vehicle's infotainment display to control home lighting, heating/cooling systems, and power or gas valves. Home-to-Car, enabled through VoiceHome, the built-in AI speaker system of the smart home platform, allows for vehicle control from within the home. Key functions used before and after driving, such as remote start, climate control, and electric vehicle charging, can be operated from home, enhancing user convenience.
In addition to Car-to-Home and Home-to-Car, the smart home platform offers a parking lot linkage service that connects homes and vehicles within the complex. This service guides registered vehicles to available parking spots upon entry into the parking lot and provides notifications regarding parcel receipt, further simplifying daily routines.
Recently, smart home platforms have emerged as a benchmark for premium living spaces. The ability to control home appliances and manage temperature, humidity, air purification, and HVAC systems through mobile apps or voice makes our daily lives more leisurely and abundant. As smart homes evolve beyond IoT to incorporate AI features, Hyundai Autoever continues to upgrade its smart home platform and add new functionalities. Hyundai Autoever's smart home platform, with its remarkable expansibility and connectivity, promises to deliver a seamless life experience to us in the future.
