LG Innotek is teaming up with Applied Intuition, a leader in the autonomous driving software market, to target physical AI. LG Innotek said on Monday it signed a strategic partnership with Applied Intuition, an autonomous driving software specialist. Applied Intuition is a U.S.-headquartered company in autonomous driving software and simulation, and counts 18 of the world’s top 20 automakers as customers.

The companies agreed to jointly develop solutions that combine autonomous driving sensing modules and software. LG Innotek’s strategy is to use the partnership to expand its business from autonomous driving into drones and robots and establish a foothold in the physical AI market.

LG Innotek will fit its in-house sensing modules to Applied Intuition test vehicles and collect real-world driving data in the United States, Europe and Japan. By securing data that reflect regional road infrastructure, traffic flow and climate conditions, it can identify performance improvements in advance across diverse environments. The collected data will be immediately reflected in module performance upgrades. It also plans to conduct autonomous driving validation tests directly in South Korea.

It will also verify technologies currently under development through real-world driving, including a composite sensing solution that combines cameras, lidar and radar. LG Innotek said it expects this to shorten development time. Applied Intuition will also apply LG Innotek’s sensing modules to its test vehicles and simulation tools to improve software completeness. The companies plan to expand the scope of cooperation beyond autonomous driving into drones and robots.

LG Innotek will apply its proprietary Virtual Sensor to Applied Intuition’s simulation tools through the partnership. The virtual sensor uses digital twin technology to reproduce the characteristics of real sensors in a virtual environment. LG Innotek said this is the first case of implementing a full set of sensors covering cameras, lidar and radar in Applied Intuition’s simulation tools. Automakers can obtain data similar to real driving during simulations.

LG Innotek said it is pursuing the partnership as part of a strategy announced early this year to transition into a “solution company”. It aims to advance its business model beyond parts supply to hardware-software combined solutions. The companies also plan joint promotions based on solutions combining sensing modules and software technology.

Applied Intuition CEO Qasar Younis (카사르 유니스) said, "To expand autonomous vehicles, hardware and software ecosystems must develop together," and added, "We will work with LG Innotek to help automakers smoothly transition from the development stage of autonomous vehicles to mass production."

LG Innotek CEO Hyeok-su Moon (문혁수) said, "Through cooperation with Applied Intuition, which has world-class technological capabilities in autonomous driving software, we will provide customers with solutions that will become a new standard for autonomous driving," and added, "We will leap to become a global top-tier player in mobility and robot sensing that leads the era of physical AI."