Autonomous Driving and Robots Becoming Everyday Life... The Future Envisioned by Kakao Mobility

‘NEXT MOBILITY: NEMO 2023'
The Only IT Technology Event in the Mobility Industry
Building a Mobility-Specialized Generative AI Engine
Integration of Autonomous Driving, Robots, Digital Twin, and More

On the 8th, Yoo Seung-il, CTO of Kakao Mobility, is delivering the keynote speech at 'NEXT MOBILITY: NEMO 2023' held at the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Kakao Mobility presented the potential and vision of mobility platforms in the era of AI-driven transformation. It envisioned a future where global mobility demand is integrated to provide seamless travel overseas, and where AI-powered autonomous vehicles enable convenient transportation to destinations.

On the 8th, Kakao Mobility held ‘NEXT MOBILITY: NEMO 2023 (hereafter NEMO)’ at the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. NEMO is the only IT technology event in the domestic mobility industry. It is a tech conference that showcases Kakao Mobility’s proprietary technologies while presenting a vision for the mobility industry based on partnerships and collaborations.

The Future of Mobility Driven by AI

Kakao Mobility anticipates that with the advancement of generative AI, a new era will soon arrive where sophisticated AI is introduced in both the demand and supply sides of mobility.

Yoo Seung-il, Kakao Mobility’s CRT (Chief Technology Officer), said in his keynote speech, “On the demand side, AI will understand context and process information across all mobility sectors including passenger transport, logistics, and services to manifest demand. On the supply side, AI technologies that provide mobility services in combination with platforms, such as autonomous driving transport and robot delivery, are already emerging.”

He continued, “Leading with generative AI technology, AI capabilities are rapidly evolving beyond traditional rule- and pattern-based information processing to levels capable of simple reasoning and creation. Kakao Mobility plans to build a ‘mobility-specialized generative AI engine’ by combining various AI technologies it currently possesses, such as routing engines, TMS engines, pricing engines, and dispatch engines, each with different strengths.”

In the following keynote, the outlook that AI will lead the future of mobility was reiterated. Kim Il-du, CEO of Kakao Brain, presented a future that could emerge when mobility services are integrated with proprietary language models.

He cited the personalized and specialized service ‘Personal Concierge,’ which generates customized travel routes based on given schedules and conditions. When Kim CEO requested, “Please provide a 3-day, 2-night family trip itinerary to Jeju Island for a family with a 3-month-old and a 1-year-old child,” detailed travel information was generated, including weather precautions, accommodation recommendations, and good spots for family photos.

Additionally, Kim CEO unveiled an intermediate training version of the next-generation language model that Kakao Brain plans to release within the year. Beyond basic functions like summarization and translation, the model demonstrated reasoning abilities by solving college entrance exam questions and essay tests.

"Kakao Mobility’s Global Expansion is Its Mission"

Kakao Mobility emphasized its global expansion. Following the acquisition of the UK mobility platform ‘Split’ in March, Kakao Mobility has established a ‘global linkage system’ connecting major overseas apps and plans to accelerate its global expansion leveraging AI technology.

Jo Hye-won, leader of Kakao Mobility’s global business planning, presented the vision of creating a ‘seamless journey in a connected world’ during the ‘LIFE’ session. She emphasized, “Going forward, Kakao Mobility will focus on expanding transportation means overseas to realize integrated mobility, ensuring seamless travel using data and AI, and linking various suppliers and global demand through SaaS (Software as a Service).”

Regarding building an ecosystem that connects global demand, the plan includes not only linking users with overseas suppliers but also connecting domestic small businesses and startups with global users.

Meanwhile, CEO Ryu Geung-seon of Kakao Mobility did not attend the event as he participated in President Yoon Seok-yeol’s state visit economic delegation to Indonesia. CEO Ryu accompanied President Yoon on state visits to Vietnam, Poland, and Indonesia.

'Argos MR' is a system that combines an MMS module with a mobile robot independently developed to create high-definition maps (HD Map) of areas where vehicles cannot access, such as parking lots, campuses, and building interiors. The photo shows the Argos series 'Argos MR'.

"Connecting Robots to Everyday Life"

Kakao Mobility also showcased a future where autonomous driving and robots are integrated into daily life. Through exhibition booths, visitors could experience the vision Kakao Mobility has researched and implemented in services such as autonomous driving, urban air mobility (UAM), and robot services.

The exhibition featured the mobile mapping system ‘Argos’ series. The Argos series is a ‘mobile mapping system’ that builds digital twins by implementing high-definition maps (HD maps) through the fusion of 32-channel LiDAR, antennas, high-resolution machine vision cameras, and positioning sensors, regardless of indoor or outdoor environments.

A mock-up of a UAM vehicle was also displayed. Kakao Mobility is preparing for the commercialization of UAM services and is collaborating with the UK vehicle manufacturer ‘Vertical Aerospace.’ Vertical Aerospace is responsible for the vehicle, while Kakao Mobility is developing software including autonomous driving and AI. The actual vehicle is scheduled to be unveiled in the second half of 2026.

Starting with the coffee robot delivery service introduced at the Kakao Mobility headquarters in March this year, Kakao Mobility is currently preparing various services related to indoor robots and vertical indoor logistics. In the future, it plans to continuously expand service areas to include food and beverage delivery inside buildings linked with delivery apps, as well as mail delivery services.