Hyundai Mobis unveils over 40 new manufacturing technologies at M-Sphere 2026

Hyundai Mobis announced Thursday that it held its manufacturing innovation technology exhibition, M-Sphere 2026, to strengthen its smart manufacturing competitiveness and energize the broader technology ecosystem.

The exhibition showcased a range of research and development achievements, centered on AI-based automation technologies co-developed with suppliers and innovation cases already applied on actual production lines.

Because the automotive parts manufacturing industry requires close collaboration among automakers, parts suppliers and equipment companies, Hyundai Mobis said it used the event to broaden the scope of technology exchange with its suppliers, share smart manufacturing know-how and contribute to raising competitiveness across the industrial ecosystem.

Now in its second year, M-Sphere serves as a platform for sharing Hyundai Mobis's current manufacturing capabilities and future vision with customers and suppliers. True to the meaning of "sphere" — a domain or realm — this year's event ran under the theme "Turning Possibilities into Real Value Beyond Challenges," taking place over two days beginning Wednesday at the Quantum Center near the Uiwang research campus in Gyeonggi Province. About 1,000 industry representatives attended across the two days, including first- and second-tier suppliers.

At the event, Hyundai Mobis and its suppliers unveiled more than 40 new manufacturing technologies across three fields: intelligent automation, AI digital twin and component technologies. All are advanced manufacturing technologies currently applied on actual production lines.

In the intelligent automation category, a transport robot system using a 3D vision system drew particular attention. Piloted at Hyundai Mobis's chassis module factory in Ulsan, the system allows robots to independently locate and collect the various parts needed to assemble automotive chassis modules, then recognize their travel path via camera and deliver components weighing up to 20 kilograms to the assembly line. The technology is designed to prevent safety accidents while improving parts supply accuracy and overall production efficiency.

In the digital twin category, a physical AI-based robot teaching solution attracted strong interest. Hyundai Mobis demonstrated the technology at the exhibition by simulating an airbag manufacturing environment. The system creates a virtual environment identical to an actual production line to train the movements of robotic arms and grippers. Even when equipment or products change, updated information can be fed into the robot through the AI-powered virtual environment in as little as two to four hours — a breakthrough capability.

The component technology category featured cases of improved existing production processes. A highlight was an automated fastening process for battery module temperature sensors. Previously reliant on manual labor to connect delicate connectors, the new system uses precision recognition and control technology to have a robot check all four directions — up, down, left and right — identify the fastening point through deep learning, and automatically insert the connector.

"We will continue to actively apply AI- and digital twin-based innovation technologies on the production floor to strengthen our manufacturing competitiveness, share know-how with our suppliers, and contribute to building a smart manufacturing ecosystem for the mobility industry," said Jeong Chung-sik, executive vice president in charge of production development at Hyundai Mobis.

Meanwhile, Hyundai Mobis posted revenue of 16.32 trillion won ($11.8 billion) and operating profit of 975.2 billion won in the second quarter of this year, driven by an improved product mix and company-wide efforts to enhance profitability. Both figures rose from the same period a year earlier — revenue by 2.4 percent and operating profit by 12.1 percent. Net profit for the period climbed 13.5 percent year-on-year to 1.06 trillion won.

On a first-half cumulative basis, the company recorded revenue of 31.89 trillion won and operating profit of 1.78 trillion won, up 3.9 percent and 8.0 percent, respectively, from the same period last year.