Hyundai and Kia share behind-the-scenes of vehicle body measurements, Hyundai on Physical AI plans

Hyundai Motor and Kia recently shared insight into their vehicles’ “foundation of rigorous testing and engineering,” backed by the Namyang R&D Center in South Korea.

The press release shows how engineers are using a state-of-the-art Digital Measuring Center (DMC) to validate up to 1,000 measurement points on every Hyundai and Kia vehicle manufactured.

“A customer settles into their new vehicle and gently closes the door. It latches smoothly. Within weeks, water seeps through gaps they never noticed, and wind noise emerges during highway driving,” the release states. “These seemingly minor irritations aren’t caused by major structural failures but by seemingly imperceptible issues in dimensional precision that are critical to the car’s integrity.”

To fix those issues, the OEMs use Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) systems at the DMC in four key quality verification areas: exterior quality, NVH, water-tightness, function, and assembly feasibility, according to the release.

“It targets small variances and gaps often missed during casual inspection and deformations often only detectable by sensors,” the release states. “By doing so, the facility transforms quality management from reactive problem-solving into data-driven refinement.”

The OEMs noted that dimensional precision — how accurately a vehicle’s parts fit together — directly impacts customer satisfaction.

“Even minute gaps between panels, or subtle inconsistencies in surface alignment, can compromise quality and trigger problems including water leaks, unwanted noise, and assembly issues,” the release states. “Yet many of these dimensional challenges occur in areas invisible to casual inspection. Hyundai Motor and Kia’s solution is a comprehensive, data-driven approach to quality management that captures and analyzes every critical measurement throughout the vehicle’s development.”

Contact sensors methodically scan specific points on the vehicles to read 3D coordinates. Engineers calculate deviation and distance between related points, assess parallelism, and derive actionable quality insights across 600 quality evaluation criteria. These measurement standards are then transferred directly to manufacturing plants, ensuring production vehicles meet identical quality benchmarks, the release states.

For movable components, such as doors and liftgates, optical 3D scanners mounted on robotic arms perform rapid full-geometry measurements. Autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) automatically transport the components, while robotic-arm-mounted scanners conduct precise inspections with minimal operator intervention, according to the release. The OEMs say that the resulting data helps engineers verify whether components meet design intent and function properly when integrated into the vehicle body.

The dynamic motion validation lab also evaluates doors, liftgates, and other movable components under real-world operating conditions.

“As engineers open and close doors and liftgates, ultra-high-speed cameras and sensors capture deformation data at 500 measurements per second, revealing movements imperceptible to the human eye,” the release states. “The facility also evaluates the effects of increased component weight and residual deformation caused by external loads.”

In the assembly verification laboratory, components are mounted onto inspection fixtures that replicate body geometry. Engineers use portable 3D scanners to validate assembly quality before final vehicle assembly, “helping identify issues early and prevent downstream defects.”

While scanning is performed manually, software automatically establishes a virtual measurement environment using reference markers, significantly improving efficiency while maintaining precision.

The final validation stage assesses the complete vehicle. Engineers scan the vehicle and analyze accumulated dimensional variation across body structures, moving components, installed parts, and trim.

“Exterior quality issues in finished vehicles can stem from multiple factors and accumulated dimensional deviations throughout the assembly process, making them difficult to diagnose through visual inspection alone,” the release states. “Because the DMC maintains measurement data from every stage of development and assembly, engineers can quickly trace any issue back to its origin and implement targeted corrective actions.”

All DMC data flows into an integrated analytical framework. The DATA-FIT algorithm uses measurement data to identify optimal assembly configurations in virtual space. DATA-AUDIT generates improvement recommendations by highlighting potential sources of dimensional variation and quality concerns.

The DMC also plans to leverage accumulated measurement data to build AI-based data infrastructure.

“It is our hope that quality, meticulously managed down to the smallest detail, leads to a sense of psychological stability and satisfaction for our customers,” said Ha in the release. “The value that DMC pursues is for quality — precisely managed not only in the visible exterior but also in the unseen — to be naturally conveyed within the customer’s experience.”

The release adds that Hyundai and Kia’s next step is to explore the Additive Manufacturing Solution Center (AMSC), where Hyundai Motor Group is using advanced 3D printing technologies to rethink how those components are designed, developed, and brought to life.

Hyundai’s plans for Physical AI

Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung outlined the group’s vision and strategy for Physical AI on July 25 at the San Francisco AI Summit.

“Hyundai Motor Group is evolving beyond the traditional boundaries of automotive manufacturing by expanding into autonomous driving, robotics and AI Defined Factories, accelerating our transformation into a Physical AI solution company,” Chung said, according to a press release from Hyundai.

The group’s Physical AI vision extends beyond intelligent devices, such as vehicles and robots, to intelligent spaces, including AI factories where AI seamlessly connects and optimizes entire operations, the release states.

“Ultimately, the group envisions integrated intelligence at the city level, where urban infrastructure is organically connected and operated through AI,” the release adds. “A key differentiator for the group is its ability to create a data flywheel that continuously connects real-world operations with AI advancement.

“Drawing on extensive experience in large-scale manufacturing, mobility, robotics and service operations, the group is positioned to deploy, refine, and scale Physical AI technologies in real industrial environments.”

Chung also outlined partnerships with leading technology companies, including NVIDIA, Waymo, and Boston Dynamics’ partnership with Google DeepMind, to further advance Physical AI capabilities.

“By combining Hyundai Motor Group’s manufacturing competitiveness, mobility, and robotics technologies and extensive operational data with the AI infrastructure and algorithm capabilities of global technology leaders, the group aims to help foster a new innovation ecosystem for the Physical AI era,” the release states.

Chung introduced initiatives to support the growth of Korea’s robotics and AI ecosystem. Those include the development of a Robot Reference Platform with NVIDIA that combines Hyundai’s and NVIDIA’s Physical AI capabilities, as well as investments in the Saemangeum AI Valley.

“The ultimate Physical AI vision Hyundai Motor Group pursues begins with intelligent devices such as vehicles and robots, expands to intelligent spaces such as AI factories, and ultimately realizes integrated intelligence at the city level, where urban infrastructure is seamlessly connected and operated,” Chung said, according to the release.

Hyundai says, in particular, the humanoid robot Atlas is emerging as a representative example of Physical AI, supporting and collaborating with people across manufacturing, logistics, and mobility environments.

Images

Featured image: Coordinate Measuring Machine (CMM) systems capture precise dimensional data from up to 1,000 measurement points, helping ensure vehicle structures meet the quality standards.

For movable components such as doors and liftgates, optical 3D scanners mounted on robotic arms perform rapid full-geometry measurements.

The CMM in action.

Engineers use a portable 3D scanner to verify assembly quality, helping ensure components fit and function as intended before final vehicle assembly.

All photos provided by Hyundai Motor Group