Hyundai Mobis Opens Seosan Proving Ground with Full of Advanced Surfaces

– Commencing the operation of the proving ground with a total
investment of 300 billion Korean Won and an area of 1.12 million square
meters…14 test tracks and 4 test buildings

– Performing autonomous driving technologies and winter performance
tests on advanced tracks and skid pads… Boasting the world’s largest
tunnel test track

SEOUL, South Korea–(BUSINESS WIRE)–#ADAS—Hyundai
Mobis (KRX:012330) has opened its own proving ground featuring 14
test tracks including advanced test tracks designed to develop core
technologies of autonomous driving.

Hyundai Mobis, the automotive supplier, announced on June 12th that it
has recently opened its Seosan Proving Ground on a site of approximately
1.12 million square meters (1.3 yd²) in Buseok-myeon, Seosan-si,
South Chungcheong Province, Korea.

The proving ground features 14 test tracks including the main office and
4 test buildings. The ground’s construction began in the first half of
2014 and was completed at the end of last year. After undergoing
supplementary construction and test operation periods earlier this year,
it finally opened this month. The total investment cost of the proving
ground is approximately 300 billion Korean Won (Approx. 270 million USD).

With the opening of Seosan Proving Ground, Hyundai Mobis has
strengthened its ability to verify the performance and quality of auto
components through vehicle testing. In particular, the new proving
ground is expected to elevate the company’s competitiveness in the hotly
contested future vehicle technology market.

The site features 14 test tracks measuring approximately 1.12 million
square meters. These tracks provide all kinds of advanced special
surfaces, including an advanced track, radar track, tunnel track and a
skid pad. The “Advanced Track” and “Radar Track” are test tracks
designed for developing autonomous driving component technologies. The
advanced track is equipped with a fake city, sound-proof tunnel, forest
roads, bus stops and guard rails. Core technologies of autonomous
vehicles are tested in the same road environment as experienced by
drivers in real driving. In addition, the Intelligent Transportation
System (ITS) environment will be used for development of a V2X-based
autonomous driving system in connection with communications technology.
The radar track is a space for testing the recognition performance of
sensors including cameras and radars, which are core technologies for
autonomous driving.

The tunnel track boasts of having the largest scale in the world.
Measuring 30 meters in width and 250 meters in straight distance, this
“blackout” environment will be used to conduct vehicle testing for
intelligent headlamps, ADAS camera recognition and control tests and
country-specific lamp compliance tests.

Another noticeable track is the “circular, broad, uphill low-friction”
skid pad. Providing winter road environments such as rainy, snowy and
icy surfaces, the skid pad is used to test the steering, braking safety
and vehicle dynamic control (VDC) performance of vehicles on slippery
surfaces. The skid pad provides a variety of environments including
turning (circular) and climbing (uphill) environments. This means winter
testing is possible in any of the four seasons. Hyundai Mobis is
currently operating winter proving grounds in China, Sweden and New
Zealand but these facilities are not operated year-round. For example,
the proving grounds in China and Sweden are available only in January
through March when extreme environments are present. Seosan Proving
Ground is expected to play a pre-verification role ahead of winter
testing in the overseas proving grounds.

The new proving ground has a total of four test buildings. The
“Performance Test Building” will evaluate the performance and quality of
modules and chassis components, while the “Durability Test Building”
will evaluate the durability of various components in operation,
including steering and braking components and modules. The site operates
a test facility dedicated to eco-friendly vehicles as well. The
“Environmental Test Building” is a venue for testing the operation and
durability of motors, fuel cells and inverters, while the “Battery Test
Building” verifies the performance of batteries, including charging and
discharging, high and low temp, stability, watertightness and cooling.
To this end, the test buildings accommodate over 380 kinds of advanced
test equipment.

“Advanced technologies can also have greater value when they can
guarantee the safety of passengers,” said Yang Seung-wook, Hyundai Mobis
R&D Executive Vice President. “To realize perfect quality, it is
essential to verify the quality of components in our own proving ground.”

Seosan Proving Ground is expected to become a linchpin that will elevate
the performance and quality of all auto components produced by Hyundai
Mobis in systematic cooperation with the existing R&D centers (one
domestic and four overseas). Hyundai Mobis has been strengthening its
market competitiveness as a global automotive supplier while securing a
wide range of products in chassis, assembly, electronics and
eco-friendly technologies. Seosan Proving Ground is also expected to not
only test current production components but also play a pivotal role in
securing competitiveness in new technologies, including autonomous
navigation, eco-friendly driving, connected and biometrics in order to
preoccupy the future vehicle market.

Contacts

Hyundai Mobis
Choon Kee Hwang, +82-2-2018-5519
[email protected]