LG, Kakao team up for future mobility

LG Electronics and Kakao Mobility have teamed up to create a new ecosystem for future mobility as they jointly develop services like delivery robots and in-car infotainment systems.

The two firms recently signed a memorandum of understanding, with their chief technology officers in attendance, they said in a statement Wednesday.

Their partnership involves a slew of new projects on in-car user experience, delivery robots, connected home appliances, vehicle communications for passenger safety and support for mobility startups.

LG’s expertise in the fields of infotainment systems, robots, data convergence and telecommunications would create synergy with Kakao Mobility’s platform operation know-how as well as data analysis prowess, the firms said.

Their first collaboration project is expected to be the development of delivery services using autonomous robots. LG’s autonomous robots and delivery solutions will be adopted to run on Kakao Mobility’s remote control platform.

Starting with delivery services in and out of buildings, they plan to diversify related services across industries.

They are also developing new solutions for LG Omnipod, LG’s self-driving vehicle that can serve as a home office or an entertainment center. The concept car made its debut during a tech conference hosted by Kakao Mobility earlier this year.

The self-driving home on wheels is fitted with LG’s home appliances retooled for in-vehicle use and offers artificial intelligence concierge services from Reah Keem, the virtual human created by LG.

“Starting with a new partnership with LG Electronics, we will further bolster our competitiveness in future mobility and contribute to creating an industrial ecosystem involving startups as well,” said Kakao Mobility Chief Technology Officer Yoo Seung-il.

“In partnership with the nation’s best mobility platform operator Kakao Mobility, we will offer new consumer experience using our expertise in the fields of infotainment systems, robots, data convergence and telecommunications,” said Kim Byung-hoon, chief technology officer at LG Electronics.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)