Automotive electronics idea contest draws over 100 proposals

AI audio, autonomous driving, parking among top picks

Hyundai Mobis presents awards to winners of the 2026 Automotive Electronics Technology Idea Contest and poses for a commemorative photo. [Hyundai Mobis]
Hyundai Mobis presents awards to winners of the 2026 Automotive Electronics Technology Idea Contest and poses for a commemorative photo. [Hyundai Mobis]

Hyundai Mobis said Tuesday it held its 2026 Automotive Electronics Technology Idea Contest for employees, selecting standout proposals in key future mobility fields including infotainment, vehicle electronic control and autonomous driving.

The contest, launched in 2024, drew more than 100 submissions in the first half of this year. The company evaluated entries on feasibility and commercial potential, ultimately selecting nine ideas.

The top prize went to a technology that uses AI to optimize in-cabin audio settings for each individual passenger. The concept was inspired by the reality that vehicle-sharing and autonomous driving could mean a constantly changing roster of users in the same car. Judges gave high marks to the idea's potential to deliver personalized audio environments and enhance the user experience.

Other winning ideas included a surround-view monitoring system that reduces camera image distortion, an AI-based parking system that learns from parking data to improve convenience, and technologies related to autonomous driving, parking and vehicle communications.

Hyundai Mobis is investing heavily in sourcing ideas from its automotive electronics division because the sector evolves rapidly and consumers can directly feel the difference in performance. The company expects that applying ideas from its R&D staff — much as it incorporates customer feedback into product development — will strengthen its competitiveness in core automotive electronics technologies such as infotainment, vehicle communications and autonomous driving.

To that end, Hyundai Mobis runs an R&D framework that takes employee ideas through technical validation before connecting them to actual development projects and commercialization. The company supports patent applications and registrations, operates an idea-submission platform open to overseas employees as well, and uses its own technology-verification system to develop the most promising proposals.

Hyundai Mobis is also stepping up investment in future automotive electronics technologies. The company is developing a holographic windshield display that turns the front windshield into a screen, as well as 5G-based vehicle communications technology. R&D spending this year is expected to exceed 2 trillion won ($1.3 billion), and its domestic and overseas R&D workforce is approaching 8,000 as the company accelerates its push to secure a competitive edge in future mobility technology.


eyre@heraldcorp.com