Hyundai Motor to develop safe boarding solution for children's school vehicles

Hyundai Motor announced Wednesday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with KT Corp, Kidsnote and MTR to develop a dedicated safe boarding and alighting solution for children's school vehicles, aimed at giving children, guardians and teachers peace of mind.

The signing ceremony was held Tuesday, with Hyundai Motor Domestic Sales Division Head Senior Managing Director Yeom Jae-seop, KT Corp Enterprise Business Head Senior Managing Director Noh Hyeong-rae, Kidsnote Executive Vice President Kang A-reum and MTR CEO Cheon Seong-jae among the key attendees.

The four companies signed the MOU to prevent safety accidents caused by children being left unattended inside school vehicles and to advance the digital transformation of school transport management. They aim to build a new children's school vehicle and safety model by linking vehicle data with transport services.

Specifically, the partners agreed to develop safety services based on Hyundai Motor's multipurpose vehicles — covering in-vehicle child detection and safety monitoring, real-time location sharing, automatic boarding and alighting confirmation with notifications, and automatic driving log recording — before conducting pilot operations to improve both safety and operational convenience for children's school transport.

Hyundai Motor will supply the Staria EV for school vehicle production and develop safe boarding and alighting features that link the vehicle with services by using vehicle data including speed, engine status and GPS.

MTR, a specialist in purpose-built vehicle modifications, will handle the development, production, certification and sales of children's school vehicles, incorporating child-appropriate safety devices and applying the dedicated safe boarding and alighting solution to Hyundai Motor's vehicles.

KT Corp will provide the communications infrastructure connecting vehicles with the safe boarding and alighting service, and will apply precision positioning technology to more accurately track the location and movement of school vehicles.

Kidsnote, an early childhood service platform company, will operate a safe boarding and alighting service through its application, providing parents and teachers with real-time information and records on children's school commutes.

Beyond vehicle and service development, the four companies plan to enhance the accuracy of core features — including in-vehicle child detection and automatic boarding and alighting notifications — by leveraging ultra-wideband radio waves and Bluetooth Low Energy technology, with the goal of building greater parental trust and improving convenience for teachers.

Hyundai Motor said it plans to continue expanding its mobility solutions, developing and deploying vehicles for a wider range of purposes through the integration of vehicles and software.

"Hyundai Motor's multipurpose vehicles are more than just a means of transportation — they are a core link connecting customers' daily lives with services," Yeom said. "Through this collaboration, we will create a school transport environment where children and guardians can feel safe, and continue to expand our business as a solution provider that delivers real value to customers."

Meanwhile, earlier this year Hyundai Motor became the first in the world to develop "Vision Pulse," an advanced sensing technology that uses ultra-wideband radio waves to accurately detect the position of obstacles around a vehicle in real time to assist drivers.

The Vision Pulse technology campaign won two top prizes at the One Show and a bronze at Spikes Asia in April — two of the world's most prestigious international advertising festivals.