As the core competitiveness of automobiles is shifting to 'passenger experience', it has been found that a new approach is needed that views automobiles not as a simple means of transportation but as a human-centered experience space.

The Korea Automobile Research Institute recently published the April 2025 issue of 'Mobility Insight' and emphasized the importance of HMI (Human-Machine Interface) and UX (User Experience) in the automobile industry.

With the full-fledged arrival of the autonomous vehicle era, automobiles are changing from a simple means of transportation to a 'smart living space', and accordingly, passenger experience is becoming a key competitive factor.

According to this researcher's presentation, HMI is evolving from the existing physical buttons and levers to intuitive interfaces such as voice recognition and gesture control.

At the same time, UX encompasses the entire vehicle use experience and is rapidly being reorganized from driver-centered to passenger-centered.

This shift was also evident at CES 2025 earlier this year. The world's leading automakers have focused on transforming the in-car user experience by introducing advanced HMI technologies.

Reflecting this, the Korea Automobile Research Institute recently held a symposium with domestic experts on the topic of HMI·UX, which has emerged as a new field of automobile competition.

The symposium examined domestic and international trends in related technologies and discussed strategies and challenges for domestic companies to secure competitiveness in the global market.

At this symposium, experts emphasized 'HVE (Human Vehicle Experience),' an integrated concept of HMI and UX.

This is an approach that views vehicles as human-centered experience spaces rather than simple means of transportation, and it starts from the recognition that in the era of autonomous driving, every moment before and after boarding must be connected as a single experience.

On the other hand, the UX-centered approach is currently lacking in the domestic automobile industry. Experts pointed out that a comprehensive strategy that considers not only technological development but also the industrialization process is needed.

The need for standardization work, especially through government projects, was also discussed. Europe and the United States are already actively conducting HMI/UX research at the government level, but in Korea, there has been criticism that related projects are classified as design-related and therefore lack policy support.

Accordingly, experts unanimously agreed that institutional supplementation is necessary to improve the research environment and expand corporate participation.

It was also raised that HMI technology is undervalued despite being directly related to safety rather than simply providing convenience.

As it is a key element involved in accident prevention and driver cognitive response, there was an opinion that the government should establish an HMI roadmap and establish a clear support system.

Automotive UX can not only provide usability and convenience while driving, but can also serve as an opportunity to create new revenue models.

“By introducing the business UX concept, we can build an ecosystem that can generate revenue in the automotive space,” the experts explained.

There is also an outlook that UX will likely be implemented as a new function in the future SDV (Software Defined Vehicle) environment.

Along with this, the need to foster talent and expand research in the automotive HMI/UX field was emphasized.

Because the technology is a convergence field that includes multidisciplinary elements, a more comprehensive research approach is required.

Experts advised that automotive HMI should be linked to complex technologies such as perception and signal processing, rather than simple interface design.

Korea Automobile Research Institute plans to continue to conduct research on HMI and UX in the future and support domestic automobile companies to secure global competitiveness.

Experts say, “Changes in the automobile industry are not only about technological advancements but also about innovations in user experience.He emphasized that “it must proceed together.”