Media Day holding the first public unveiling of 'Pleos Connect' at Gangnam UX Studio on the 29th (Wednesday)

[Pleos Connect Development Direction] Enhancing convenience through intuitive UX design that anyone can use easily and safely

[Navigation] Providing safe navigation guidance through simple yet intuitive design & enhanced functional operation convenience

Hyundai Motor Group held 'Pleos Connect Media Day' at 'UX Studio Seoul' in Gangnam-gu, Seoul on the 29th (Wednesday), announcing the development concept, key features, and future application plans of Pleos Connect, a next-generation infotainment system to be unveiled in May.

Pleos Connect is a mass production model of the research and development version unveiled by Hyundai Motor Group last year through the developer conference 'Pleos 25', and is a next-generation infotainment system that will lead the SDV era in the future and provide new value to customers.

Pleos Connect is characterized by transforming vehicles into smart devices by applying the three core values of intuitiveness, safety, and openness as development philosophy, including ▲large-screen display ▲slim display ▲AI-based voice assistant 'Gleo AI' ▲open app market, etc. Customers can control vehicles and receive navigation guidance using Pleos Connect's large-screen display, issue commands through AI voice recognition, and enjoy increasingly diverse experiences such as games, web searches, and media content through external app services.

Moreover, even after vehicle purchase, new features and convenience specifications can be continuously added through wireless software updates, allowing vehicles to always be kept in the latest state. Pleos Connect is the first step in Hyundai Motor Group's Software Defined Vehicle (SDV) system transition, and is expected to serve as an important technological asset that provides customers with a completely new mobility experience and strengthens Hyundai Motor Group's position as a software-centered mobility tech company. In particular, in the context of AI technology rapidly evolving, it is significant that it has established an expandable platform for moving beyond SDV to AIDV (Artificial Intelligence Defined Vehicle) by further advancing the interaction between vehicles and users centered on personalized AI voice assistants. Hyundai Motor Group plans to first apply Pleos Connect to 'The New Grandeur' scheduled for launch in May and sequentially expand to global regions, with a plan to apply Pleos Connect to approximately 20 million vehicles by 2030. Lee Jong-won, Executive Vice President of Hyundai Motor and Kia Feature & CCS Business Division, said, "Pleos Connect is a next-generation infotainment system that provides customers with a higher-level mobility experience by combining advanced AI technology with a mobile-friendly platform," adding "Through the newly unveiled Gleo AI and open app market, it will become an opportunity to vividly experience the infinite expansion possibilities of future mobility."

■ Providing a vehicle environment that anyone can use easily and safely through simple and intuitive design

Pleos Connect is characterized by intuitively providing core information so drivers can easily and conveniently use vehicle functions while driving, and enhancing operational convenience. To fully implement these strengths, Hyundai Motor Group conducted user research at UX studios located in Seoul, North America, Europe, and other regions from the early development stage, and analyzed various driving behaviors of drivers.

As a result, customer needs for a usage environment where the infotainment system can be easily used without interfering with driving were identified, and based on this, 'intuitiveness' and 'convenience' were established as UX (User Experience) principles for Pleos Connect. Additionally, efforts were made to provide a vehicle infotainment usage environment similar to mobile and implement a screen interface that anyone can easily understand and use without additional learning. Reflecting these principles, Pleos Connect allows users to check the main status information of the vehicle through a large-screen display located in the center of the vehicle, and use navigation and various app service-based convenience features. The large-screen display is divided into two main areas depending on function. The left 'driving information screen' displays essential driving information such as speed, warning lights, and fuel/energy efficiency like a traditional cluster at all times, and enhances intuitiveness by allowing vehicle functions to be operated and controlled with simple screen touches. While driving or parking, surrounding vehicles, objects, and people are exposed through 3D graphics to provide an environment where drivers can drive more safely. The right 'app screen' is an area where users can freely execute and explore functions such as navigation, media viewing, vehicle control and settings, and content usage. Drivers can split the app screen into two and run two different apps simultaneously, and can also enjoy media content by using the entire app screen. The bottom bar of the screen shows functions the driver has recently used, such as navigation, air conditioning, music, and phone, allowing easy return to the previously used screen, or the ability to pin frequently used functions and apps. Design philosophy for safety while driving is also reflected. First, a slim display is placed in front of the driver's seat that allows quick confirmation of essential driving information without moving the line of sight. Drivers can freely combine and display information such as speed, media, and route on the slim display according to their preferences and convenience. Additionally, rather than relying solely on the touch screen buttons of the large-screen display, physical buttons are applied to the steering wheel and the bottom of the large-screen display to enable fast and precise control of frequently used functions while driving. This allows drivers to safely focus on driving while keeping their eyes on the road without needing to use the large-screen display for vehicle control such as air conditioning and seat heating while driving. Another feature is the application of 3-finger gestures for convenient screen use. Drivers can easily change the position of app screens or immediately close unnecessary apps using three fingers even while driving. Kim Chang-seop, Lead Researcher of Hyundai Motor and Kia UX Strategy Team, said, "Pleos Connect is a platform born from deep interest in users' mobility experiences," adding "Even after launch, we plan to listen to various customer voices and continue efforts to design customer experiences that will enrich the value of mobility."

■ Pleos Connect Navigation that Reduces Complexity and Enhances Intuitiveness

Hyundai Motor Group has enhanced screen composition and route guidance functionality so drivers can use navigation more conveniently and efficiently.

Above all, based on Pleos Connect's UX principle of intuitiveness and simplicity, it is designed so that drivers can use navigation functions more easily and safely. First, by analyzing existing navigation big data, the screen and menu layout were restructured around key navigation features with high usage frequency. Additionally, by minimizing colors and displaying driving information icons with simple design on the map, complex graphics were reduced and visibility was enhanced. The application of a modular interface to the navigation screen is also a major advantage of Pleos Connect navigation, allowing the screen to be freely configured according to the driver's convenience rather than being fixed like before. Thanks to the modular interface, drivers can run navigation and other apps simultaneously on a large display, and can more intuitively recognize important information such as the entire route, estimated arrival time, and destination displayed on the screen in a floating card format. Moreover, through navigation route guidance optimization, it is designed to best perform navigation's inherent functions such as turn-by-turn guidance. Hyundai Motor Group's navigation provides accurate and fast directions based on real-time driving data collected from Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles operating throughout the country. In particular, rather than downloading the entire map data, online navigation that can partially auto-update in real-time around the vehicle's current location or on the route to the destination is applied, providing drivers with the latest road information faster and more conveniently. Additionally, it also provides turn-by-turn guidance combining navigation data and in-vehicle AI agent functionality. Through voice commands, drivers can check parking information at the destination, nearby restaurant information, and more beyond simple destination input, and can reset the navigation route accordingly. Hyundai Motor Group plans to continue reflecting customer needs by developing features such as providing outdoor parking information in navigation or predicting electric vehicle driving range using road gradient and traffic information, and will provide these through wireless software updates to enhance customer convenience. Yun Han-na, a researcher at the Hyundai and Kia Navigation Development Team, stated, "Navigation can provide better mobility experience the lower its complexity," and added, "Based on this philosophy, through the newly designed Pleos Connect navigation that anyone can use easily and intuitively, the mobility experience of Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis customers will become even more convenient."

■ Gleo AI, An Agentic AI that Performs In-Vehicle Convenience Features and Provides Services Through Conversation

Another feature of Pleos Connect is that it is equipped with Gleo AI (Gleo AI), an in-vehicle AI agent, providing drivers with a mobility experience that enables continuous communication with the vehicle.

Gleo AI is developed based on Large Language Model (LLM) and comprehensively understands users' speech intent, conversational context, and driving situation to perform more advanced voice recognition commands. By analyzing previous conversation history, it can accurately understand abstract expressions like 'there' and 'around here,' and can grasp the intent of tone and engage in conversation even with imperfect sentences or various regional dialects.

Furthermore, it is also capable of multi-command execution that recognizes and sequentially processes multiple commands given simultaneously. For example, even if you say three requests at once like "Gleo, turn off the air conditioner, change the mood light to a forest feeling, and turn on the radio," it accurately grasps the context and sequentially executes the commands. Additionally, through web search, it provides richer information in response to users' questions about weather and lifestyle information, sports results, general knowledge, latest news, and more. Besides, Gleo AI is integrated with the vehicle and can control various in-vehicle functions. Drivers can conveniently operate navigation destination setting, climate control settings, vehicle control, and more during driving using voice commands. Moreover, it also provides zone-by-zone voice recognition that controls functions by recognizing the seat of the speaking passenger. For example, even if a passenger sitting in the back seat does not specify the location precisely, such as saying 'turn on the heated seat,' Gleo AI detects the speaker's location through the rear seat microphone and turns on the heated seat in that seat. Users can also check in text the conversation history of how Gleo understood and processed commands through the Gleo AI app on the large display. Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group plans to continuously enhance Gleo AI even after mass production application. Currently, Gleo AI operates with a focus on controlling the vehicle and activating convenience features, but it is planned to be integrated with various app services in the future.

Accordingly, customers are expected to experience more advanced personalized services by being able to naturally use various app features with just voice commands, as if water flows naturally. Hyundai Motor Group has distributed development guidelines to developers for the integration of Gleo AI and various app functions, and is continuing to collaborate with developers for technological advancement. Lee Jong-ho, Team Lead of Fortytwodot Gleo AI Group, stated, "Gleo AI is an intelligent AI agent that converses like a person sitting next to you, understands users' intentions, and makes comprehensive situational judgments," and added, "Gleo AI will continue to develop based on increasingly advanced personalized services to support customers' enjoyable and convenient mobility."

■ Increasingly Advanced Mobility Experience Through External Service Expansion via 'App Market'

Pleos Connect has implemented 'App Market,' an open app ecosystem where customers can experience various services in the vehicle while on the move, and the benefits enjoyed in that process can be continuously expanded. App Market is a platform that, in addition to functions provided by the vehicle manufacturer at delivery, collects and provides external service apps desired by customers, serving as a foundation for experiencing various services and content within the vehicle.

Through this, customers can not only selectively use app services according to the purpose of vehicle use, such as charging, camping, work, and rest, in addition to driving, but also naturally continue a similar experience to smartphone usage on vehicles. First, Hyundai Motor Group plans to introduce services focusing on the most frequently used content in vehicles, such as music, video, and navigation, through the initial app market. Accordingly, starting from May, customers who purchase vehicles equipped with Pleos Connect will be able to conveniently use external services developed exclusively for vehicles, such as 'Naver Auto' and 'Naver Map', which were previously used in smartphone and PC environments, within the vehicle. Moreover, various media content services such as YouTube, Spotify, SBS Gorilla, Essential, and Genie can also be used directly within the vehicle without smartphone connection. Hyundai Motor Group plans to strengthen external partnerships to expand the app market services and continuously expand various app services such as games, entertainment, and vehicle management reflecting customer preferences and trends. Additionally, it has established 'Pleos Playground', a developer-only platform that enables development of more vehicle apps, and provides vehicle APIs and development tools. Through this, external developers can freely plan and develop new services in Pleos Playground, which serves as a foundation for app services provided to customers to expand into various fields. Hyundai Motor Group plans to continuously strengthen cooperation with diverse developers worldwide to provide differentiated services utilizing vehicle apps. Yun Chi-hyung, Group Lead of Fortytoddot Pleos Playground Group, said, "The app market is a creative platform where any developer with ideas can participate and create new value in mobility experience," and "I look forward to together redefining the future of mobility through participation of diverse developers around the world." Meanwhile, Hyundai Motor Group plans to sequentially apply Pleos Connect to Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis vehicles sold worldwide, starting from South Korea, and enable global customers to experience services that will enrich vehicle usage experience. Through this, the Group plans to further accelerate the transition to an SDV system.

▶ Original source: https://www.hyundaimotorgroup.com/ko/news/hyundai-motor-group-redefines-in-vehicle-experience-with-pleos-connect-next-generation-infotainment-system