CES 2019: Kia prepares for post-autonomous driving era with AI-based real-time emotion recognition technology

• Kia to unveil new in-car tech for the future ‘emotive driving’ era at CES 2019
• R.E.A.D. System is the automotive industry’s first technology converging human senses-oriented in-cabin environment control and AI-based emotional intelligence

(SEOUL) December 20, 2018 – Kia Motors will preview a range of new technologies developed for the post-autonomous driving era at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) next month.

Kia’s interactive ‘Space of Emotive Driving’ exhibit looks to a future when autonomous driving is the norm and priority is given to improving the human mobility experience. Central to this concept is Kia’s new Real-time Emotion Adaptive Driving (R.E.A.D.) System – a world’s first technology developed based on a joint research collaboration with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Media Lab's Affective Computing group.

R.E.A.D. System can optimize and personalize a vehicle cabin space by analyzing a driver’s emotional state in real-time through artificial intelligence-based bio-signal recognition technology. The technology monitors a driver’s emotional state and tailors the interior environment according to its assessment – potentially altering conditions relating to the human senses within the cabin, creating a more joyful mobility experience.

Mr. Albert Biermann, President and Head of Research & Development Division of Kia Motors, said, “We have developed R.E.A.D. System to create an interactive future mobility in-cabin space by converging cutting edge vehicle control technology and AI-based emotional intelligence. Consequently, R.E.A.D. System will enable continuous communication between drivers and vehicles through the unspoken language of ‘emotional feeling’, thereby providing an optimized human senses-oriented space for drivers in real-time.”

Kia’s CES exhibit will also feature several other advanced in-car and mobility technologies focused on the brand’s ‘emotive driving’ concept, with more details set to be announced in the build-up to the 2019 event. For an enhanced visitor experience, Kia will operate 15-minute ‘Docent Tours’ at regular intervals at the booth throughout the duration of CES 2019. The tours will give attendees a more in-depth understanding of the new technologies on display.