Hyundai Motor Group Launches Parking Robot Pilot Project in Korea

Hyundai Motor Group Begins Residential Parking Robot Pilot

Hyundai Motor Group has launched a parking robot pilot project at the Hillstate The Wave City apartment complex in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province, Korea. The consortium, comprising Hyundai Motor, Hyundai WIA and Hyundai E&C, is conducting the project under the Smart City Regulatory Sandbox program, with approval from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and government funding. The initiative is intended to validate robotic parking technology in a residential environment and examine whether automated systems can help address parking shortages, congestion and safety challenges within apartment complexes.

Hyundai WIA Deploys Automated Parking Robots

The pilot will use two sets of Hyundai WIA parking robots in a dedicated 53-space area within the B1 parking garage. The system uses two thin, wide robots, each measuring 110 mm in thickness, which move beneath a vehicle, lift its wheels and transport the vehicle to an assigned parking position. Equipped with LiDAR sensors, the robots detect the size and position of vehicle wheels to support accurate lifting and movement. The system is designed to automatically park SUVs weighing up to 3.4 tonnes while operating at speeds of up to 1.2 meters per second.

Pilot Will Measure Parking Efficiency and User Experience

During the pilot period, Hyundai Motor Group will assess several operational and user-focused performance indicators to determine the effectiveness of the robotic parking system. The evaluation will cover vehicle parking and retrieval times, actual waiting times for users, parking success rates, robot utilization rates and monthly operating volumes. The company will also examine improvements in parking-space efficiency, providing data on how automated vehicle movement could optimize available capacity. These measurements are intended to establish practical evidence from real residential operations rather than relying only on controlled technical demonstrations.

Project Data Could Support Future Regulatory Improvements

The pilot is also intended to generate evidence for potential regulatory improvements concerning parking robots in residential and other parking facilities. Based on the operational data collected during the project, South Korea could gain practical insights into how robotic parking systems should be evaluated and regulated in real-world environments. Hyundai Motor Group additionally plans to develop a virtual simulation model incorporating various parking-facility layouts. The model could help assess robotic parking performance across different configurations and support future planning, system development and broader deployment strategies.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Hyundai Motor Group's parking robot pilot project?
The project is a residential smart parking trial designed to evaluate robotic vehicle parking under real operating conditions. Hyundai Motor Group is conducting the pilot at the Hillstate The Wave City apartment complex in Siheung, Korea, using Hyundai WIA parking robots within a dedicated 53-space area. The project operates under the Smart City Regulatory Sandbox program with government approval and funding. Its evaluation focuses on parking and retrieval times, user waiting periods, success rates, robot utilization, operating volumes and improvements in parking-space efficiency.

How do Hyundai WIA parking robots move vehicles?
Hyundai WIA's parking system uses two thin robots that move underneath a vehicle and lift its wheels before transporting it to a designated parking position. Each robot is 110 mm thick and uses LiDAR sensors to identify the size and position of vehicle wheels accurately. The system is designed to handle SUVs weighing up to 3.4 tonnes and can operate at speeds reaching 1.2 meters per second. The pilot will provide practical operating data on how this technology performs within an active residential parking environment.

What will Hyundai Motor Group evaluate during the pilot?
The evaluation will examine both technical performance and the experience of people using the parking facility. Key measurements include vehicle parking and retrieval times, actual user waiting times, parking success rates, robot utilization rates and monthly operating volumes. The project will also assess whether robotic vehicle movement can improve the efficiency of available parking spaces. After collecting the results, Hyundai Motor Group plans to use the findings to develop proposals for regulatory improvements and create a virtual simulation model covering different parking-facility layouts and operating conditions.