A KAIST research team has developed active aerodynamics technology that adjusts airflow around a vehicle in real time depending on driving conditions, improving driving performance and safety for high-performance electric vehicles.

KAIST said on Thursday that a team led by professor Hyun-chul Shim (심현철) of the School of Electrical Engineering developed a "multi active aerodynamics system" that integrates and controls multiple aerodynamics devices at the front and rear of a vehicle with support from Hyundai Motor, and verified its performance by applying it to an actual vehicle.

The research, led by doctoral student Seong-won Ni (니성원) as first author, implemented technology that controls four active aerodynamics devices mounted at the front and rear as a single system and selects the optimal aerodynamics mode based on vehicle speed and steering condition.

The team said tests with an actual vehicle at the Yeongam International Circuit confirmed shorter lap times, improved braking and cornering performance, and better vehicle stability.

The research won first place in the best student paper award at the international academic conference in intelligent vehicles, "IEEE IV 2026", held last month in Detroit.

Shim said, "We expect this research to lead to a core technology that improves driving performance and safety not only for high-performance electric vehicles but also for autonomous vehicles and software-defined vehicles."