Hyundai has a new partner to develop future vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technology in Autotalks, an Israel-based company founded in 2008. The Korean automaker announced on Tuesday it will partner with the technology company via a direct investment in its operations.
V2X includes vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-infrastructure technology. Effectively, the tech allows cars to communicate with other connected things, such as traffic lights, roadways, buildings, other cars, and more. Hyundai said the partnership is vital to its future work with self-driving cars; the automaker plans to reveal its first Level 4 self-driving car in 2021.
Specifically, the focus of the partnership will be on vehicle safety. In manned vehicles, V2X tech can alert drivers of conditions ahead and notify them of potentially dangerous conditions. Think of a car sending a message to another car letting it know there's a wreck up ahead, or the roadway is icy. In self-driving cars, V2X will help vehicles make better decisions by communicating with "smart" objects embedded in the surrounding infrastructure.
The Korean automaker has been on a roll with future-forward technology as of late. Hyundai showed off the Nexo fuel cell vehicle at the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show and also detailed plans for an artificial intelligence personal assistant. The AI assistant will debut in Hyundai vehicles next year, and more futuristic gear could come from its Intelligent Personal Cockpit concept.
The cockpit concept includes voice recognition, a Wellness Care system to monitor various driver vitals, and a few other party tricks. Drivers can also knock twice on the door to unlock the car.
Hyundai didn't detail when it plans to include V2X technology in production cars, but the automaker said the partnership "will accelerate the development and deployment of the next generation chipset for connected cars."
Though its company headquarters are in Israel, Autotalks has offices in North America, Germany, France, Sweden, Japan, and Korea.