Dream Ace attended Hyundai Motor Group's Pleos 25 event, which drew a lot of attention. It is no exaggeration to say that the SDV market is the most important keyword in the automobile market. As such, Hyundai Motor Group's Pleos 25 event was an important starting point for the automobile ecosystem. I felt that this conference was a truly hearty meal. Besides the exhibition, there were many contents prepared, including technical sessions and seminars by many developers, key notes, and hands-on. There were also many announcements of Hyundai Motor Group's new technologies, Pleos Connect, Gleo AI, Meta SDV and others. Let's take a look at the Pleos 25, which opened a new perspective of SDV, which attracted so many people!
Pleos 25 was the first developer conference held by Hyundai Motor Group to inform the development of SDV (software-driven vehicle) and to grow the automotive app ecosystem. It was an event to talk about future mobility technologies with global partners, announcing the new software brand 'Pleos' that will be applied to Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Genesis vehicles. As a team with a keen interest in automotive software development and IVI solutions, we participated to experience Pleos' technology and development environment firsthand and open a new perspective on SDV trends.
Keynote: Pleos & Cloud Mobility Vision
The Pleos 25 event began with the keynote of Song Chang-hyun, president of Hyundai Motor Group's AVP division. Song introduced Pleos' vision by announcing, "With Pleos, we will realize cloud mobility, where all means of transportation are connected to software and are constantly evolving." Pleos is an integrated software platform that connects vehicles, fleets, hardware, software, and urban infrastructure, showing Hyundai Motor Group's willingness to transition to a mobility technology company rather than just an automobile manufacturer. Our Dreamace paid particular attention to the next generation infotainment system called Pleos Connect. Based on Android Automotive OS (AAOS), Pleos Connect provides an intuitive UI like a smartphone and is said to be equipped with AI voice assistant 'Gleo AI'. It is expected to be applied to Hyundai Motor, Kia, and Genesis vehicles from the second quarter of 2026, and it is planned to be in more than 20 million vehicles by 2030, so I can't help but look forward to it!
Technology track session: Newest trend for SDV & AutoDrive
After the Keynote, various technology sessions continued at the Track booth. Our team focused on the sessions related to SDV, artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous driving technologies. It was impressive that there were many sessions where field developers shared their own infotainment app development, SDV technology, and data utilization cases using it. In particular, during the autonomous driving session, it was announced that Hyundai Motor Group plans to introduce the Level 2+ autonomous driving system by the end of 2027. The system is said to recognize the surroundings of the vehicle through the camera and radar, and perform complex decisions with AI deep learning. Also, the session called Meta SDV Platform for End-to-End Development was impressive. Meta SDV is a new technology from Hyundai Motor Group, which provides a space for testing various things in a virtual space, not only software but also hardware aspects, as the vehicle is centered on SDV. Through this technology, it is possible to test the operation of various software in the vehicle, and factors such as weather are also simulated, making it easy to pre-test. These announcements were a time for the Pleos platform to think more deeply about how autonomous driving technologies and technologies for multiple SDVs will contribute to the future of the automobile.
Hands-on: Experience developing automotive apps with Pleos SDK
Among the various programs, the most impressive experience program was the experience of developing an app for vehicles using the Pleos SDK (Software Development Kit) and API. Through an open platform called Pleos Playground, I was able to experience the environment that supports third-party developers to develop an app for vehicles firsthand. There are missions to develop a simple navigation app, and real-time route guidance was implemented using the vehicle data (speed, location, fuel condition, etc.) and API provided by the Pleos SDK. I think it was beneficial for many developers to communicate directly with the Pleos developers and exchange feedback on the development environment during the Hands-on session. In particular, it was impressive that the plug-and-play function allows external hardware to be directly connected to the vehicle without additional settings
Exhibit: Partnering with the Vehicle App Ecosystem
The exhibition space was one of the most memorable parts of the Pleos 25 event. There were various booths where you could experience major Pleos-based apps and services, and you could see the technologies of global partners in cooperation with Hyundai Motor Group at a glance. Major companies such as Samsung Electronics, Google, Naver, Socar, and Unity operated their own booths and displayed examples of cooperation with Pleos, and each one was really interesting. Each booth had different contents and elements to experience, so you could have a new experience. Let's take a closer look at what technologies and services each company introduced.
Samsung Electronics Booth: Through cooperation with Pleos, Samsung introduced in-vehicle display technology and IoT-linked solutions. Using a high-resolution display linked with Pleos Connect, we demonstrated the connection between smartphones and smart home devices in the vehicle, for example, controlling the lighting and air conditioning of the house in the vehicle. Our team was particularly impressed by how Samsung's display technology made Pleos Connect' UI clearer and more lively. The ability to automatically synchronize the driver's smartphone and vehicle through Pleos ID, bringing up music playlists and contacts immediately also seemed really convenient.
Naver Booth: Naver focused on the integration of location-based services and Pleos. It introduced a real-time traffic information app linked with Pleos Connect, which provided a function that recommended optimal routes to drivers using Naver map data. For example, notifications such as "Expect traffic congestion in the next 5 km section, recommend detour routes," were displayed on the Pleos Connect screen, and the UI was really neat and recognizable at a glance. In addition, a Japanese market service in cooperation with Naver Japan was introduced, which included Japanese voice recognition and regional customized contents (e.g., recommended restaurants near Tokyo), giving us a glimpse of Pleos' potential to target the global market.
Socar Booth: In collaboration with Pleos, Socar displayed vehicle sharing services and fleet management solutions. This was a great experience to showcase real modern vehicles for a more lively and hands-on experience. We demonstrated a system that manages the real-time location, fuel status, and reservation status of Socar vehicles using the Fleet Management function provided by the Pleos platform, which would be really useful for car sharing companies. In particular, it was impressive that users who boarded Socar vehicles could apply their Pleos profile directly through the Pleos ID, and it seemed really convenient to automatically load the driver's music playlist and navigation settings as soon as they got into Socar vehicles.
Hyundai Motor Group Booth: As the organizer of the Pleos 25 event, Hyundai Motor Group presented a comprehensive display of various apps and services through a high degree of understanding based on Pleos. There was a simulator for experiencing the real UI of Pleos Connect, and it seemed really convenient to check navigation, music, and weather information at the same time through split-view and multi-window function. In addition, there was a demonstration to apply a personalized user profile through the Pleos ID. Once the driver logged in with the Pleos ID, he/she could experience firsthand the process of automatically applying his/her seat position, music playlist, and navigation settings. I can't help but feel confident that Pleos Connect's intuitive UI and personalization will greatly improve the user experience.
In addition, many companies introduced their unique and innovative technologies, such as TJ's in-car karaoke content and emotiv's mobile phone becoming a remote control of the ivi screen to enjoy higher-level games, and I naturally thought that Pleos 25 was not a place for new technology development and sharing.
Dream Ace's SDV
