Hyundai Motor Group has unveiled future production technology in which artificial intelligence (AI) robots autonomously locate and weld approximately 1,700 points on a vehicle body. Hyundai Motor and Kia announced on the 18th that they will host “E-Forest Tech Day 2026” from the 19th through the 21st at the Uiwang Research Center in Gyeonggi Province, showcasing more than 200 innovative technologies for the transition to a Software-Defined Factory (SDF).
The event, now in its seventh year, serves as a platform for sharing smart factory technologies developed by Hyundai Motor and Kia’s Manufacturing Solutions Division and its partners. Key exhibition areas include SDF foundation technologies, autonomous and automated systems, energy solutions, and future mobility.
The most prominent highlight is the AI-based welding robot. A single vehicle can have up to 1,700 welding points, and previously, workers were responsible for “teaching” — manually inputting each robot’s movement path. Now, AI identifies welding positions and movement paths in virtual space, and when errors are detected, the robot autonomously corrects its path and posture to locate the precise point and begin welding. Hyundai Motor plans to apply this technology to South Korean plants starting next year.
The “Digital Twin” technology to be introduced at E-Forest Tech Day is also drawing attention. By running simulations linked to actual factory equipment in a virtual space identical to reality, issues can be pre-validated and optimized before they occur in the real world. This reduces the number of times production lines must be halted for testing, saving both time and cost.
Hyundai Motor Group is systematizing this into an “AI Factory” currently under development. When inspection AI performance degrades, new training data is generated in virtual space and used for repeated retraining and validation. Everything from camera angles to vehicle models and body colors can be modified. Defect scenarios that are difficult to create intentionally in a real factory can be generated virtually for training purposes. Hyundai Motor is developing “sim-to-real” technology that transfers learning outcomes from the virtual world to physical equipment using Nvidia’s GPUs and the robot simulation platform “Isaac Sim.”
The difficulty of tasks performed by robots is also increasing. Large, flexible rubber components like vehicle body weatherstrips have irregular shapes, making automation challenging. The robot unveiled at the Uiwang Research Center on the day used a dedicated gripper to hold the rubber component, adjusting pressing force in real time while fitting it into the door frame. After installation, assembly status was verified using 3D imaging.
A Hyundai Motor official explained, “We had the AI repeatedly learn the sequence and speed at which workers grasp and insert components, then reflected that in the robot’s movements.”
Human hand-shaped grippers were also attached to robot arms. Wire loops used to secure suspensions for transporting electric vehicle front chassis previously had to be tied and untied manually by workers. Hyundai Motor is developing a hand gripper to replace this task, using tactile sensors and vision models to confirm proper gripping. The company plans to develop two models — “picking” and “grasping” — applying different hand motions depending on component shape and task.
In the SDF technology category, the companies will present the current status of quality system implementation and showcase deployment strategies for rapid application to domestic and international plants based on standardized technology foundations. Hyundai Motor and Kia are focused on establishing unified data collection and management systems and a common development environment for SDF implementation, along with building the foundation to develop and scale manufacturing solutions.
AI agents specialized for factory tasks — including data querying and interpretation, manufacturing know-how search, and equipment manual creation — will also be introduced. In the automation technology category, “tunnel-type exterior inspection vision technology” will be exhibited. This method inspects vehicle exteriors by feeding them through a tunnel-shaped device using 3D simulation, and is slated for application at domestic and international plants to improve finished vehicle quality.
This year’s event will also feature a new manufacturing technology presentation competition and partner seminars. The competition will share new technology cases that enhance the competitiveness of global production plants. Partner seminars will discuss collaboration on topics including physical AI, data-driven manufacturing innovation, and manufacturing AI. Through these initiatives, Hyundai Motor and Kia aim to elevate the technology level of the entire industry and strengthen competitiveness.
Choi Young-tae, Executive Director and head of the E-Forest Hyundai Motor and Kia Manufacturing Solutions Division Center, said, “Our goal is to enable factories to operate flexibly and sustainably through data and AI. As the scope of robot utilization expands, people will be able to focus on safer and more valuable work.”
Hyundai Motor and Kia plan to progressively expand the application of the various technologies unveiled at this event and convert all South Korean production lines to SDF. SDF refers to factories operated on the basis of data, AI, and software.