The Staria EV children’s school shuttle. Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor (005380) is developing a mobility solution designed to give children, parents and teachers greater peace of mind during school commutes.
The automaker said on the 2nd that it signed a memorandum of understanding with KT, Kidsnote and MTR at KT’s Gwanghwamun Building West in Seoul’s Jongno district on the 1st to develop a dedicated safe boarding and drop-off solution for children’s shuttle vehicles.
Attendees included Yeom Jae-seop, executive director of Hyundai Motor’s domestic sales division; Noh Hyung-rae, executive director of KT’s enterprise business division; Kang A-reum, vice president of Kidsnote; and Chun Sung-jae, chief executive of MTR.
The agreement is aimed at preventing accidents caused by children being left behind or unattended inside shuttle vehicles, and at advancing the digital transformation of school shuttle management.
The partners aim to develop a new type of children’s shuttle vehicle and establish a safety model that links vehicle data with commuting services.
From left, MTR CEO Chun Sung-jae, Hyundai Motor domestic sales division head Yeom Jae-seop, KT enterprise business division head Noh Hyung-rae and Kidsnote Vice President Kang A-reum pose for a photo after signing a memorandum of understanding on Nov. 1 to develop a “safe boarding and disembarking solution dedicated to children’s school shuttles” at KT’s Gwanghwamun Building West in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Hyundai Motor
Built on Hyundai Motor’s multipurpose vehicles, the services will include detection of children left inside vehicles and safety monitoring, real-time location sharing, automatic boarding and drop-off confirmation with alerts, and automatic driving log records. The partners plan to develop these features and run pilot operations.
Under the partnership, Hyundai Motor will supply the Staria EV for shuttle vehicle production and develop safe boarding and drop-off functions that link the vehicle with the service, drawing on vehicle data such as speed, ignition status and GPS.
MTR, a specialty vehicle manufacturer, will handle the development, production, certification and sale of the shuttle vehicles, installing safety equipment suited to children and applying the dedicated safety solution to Hyundai Motor’s vehicles.
KT will provide the telecommunications infrastructure connecting the vehicles to the safe boarding and drop-off service, using precise positioning technology to more accurately track the location and movement of shuttle vehicles.
Kidsnote, an early childhood service platform operator, will run the safe boarding and drop-off service, providing and recording real-time information on children’s commutes for parents and teachers through its app.
The four companies plan to improve the accuracy of core functions such as detecting children left inside vehicles and automatic boarding alerts by using ultra-wideband radio and Bluetooth Low Energy technologies.
Hyundai Motor said it will continue to expand mobility solutions that adapt vehicles to a range of purposes by combining hardware with software.
“Hyundai Motor’s multipurpose vehicles are more than a means of transportation. They are a key link connecting customers’ daily lives with services,” Yeom said. “Through this partnership, we will create a commuting environment where children and parents can feel secure, and we will continue to expand our business as a solution provider that delivers real value to customers.”