Hyundai lab predicts trends

Hyundai has established a lab which predicts the way the automotive industry will evolve over the next 14 years, Go Auto reports. Project Ioniq Lab, which was founded five months ago, has brought together a team of 10 researchers and 10 consultant experts, led by Soon Jong Lee, professor of Seoul National University and head of Korea Future Design and Research Institute. The lab has since generated 12 “megatrends” that Hyundai says will enable its vehicles to evolve with people. Among its first findings for mobility in 2030, are a “hyper-connected society,” which will be centred on mobility solutions that manage large quantities of data with connections to vehicles and infrastructure. The lab reports that a “hyper-ageing society” will exam the needs of an older demographic, with 21 per cent of the population expected to be older than 65. The lab expects that mobility solutions will also cater for an owner’s health, healing and communication. Hyundai says autonomous vehicles will also mean that the interior space of a mode of transport will need to be redesigned, with potential solutions changing the interior to be used as a therapeutic space to reverse the trend of “anxiety and chaos” that modern technology contributes to. The carmaker further predicts that environmental restrictions will continue to tighten, and says its focus on “eco-ism” will explore alternative energy, energy efficiency and supporting infrastructure to meet regulations in various global markets as they get stricter.