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Meet Omnipod, LG's self-driving concept car

Tech giant offers glimpse of future where autonomous vehicles turn into small homes

Feb. 10, 2022 - 15:50 By Kan Hyeong-woo
LG Omnipod makes its first offline debut at Kakao Mobility’s technology conference held at Coex in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)
LG’s future mobility concept car the LG Omnipod on Thursday made its offline debut at a technology conference organized by Kakao Mobility in Seoul.

LG Omnipod, which was first presented in a video at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas last month, is a concept model of futuristic vehicles that can reconstruct the passengers’ space for various purposes.

With the modular in-vehicle appliances and adaptive interior, LG Omnipod can be an office or personal space where users can enjoy a range of activities such as watching movies, exercising and shopping through the metaverse with help from artificial intelligence assistance, the company said.

The debut took place at Kakao Mobility’s first technology conference, called “Next Mobility: NEMO 2022,” at Coex in Seoul.

“LG Electronics’ vision on how mobility design will fundamentally change in the future where full autonomous driving will happen is our LG Omnipod on display today,” said Park Il-pyung, CEO of LG Science Park, in his keynote speech.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the key is to go beyond the concept of cars serving as a way of transportation and focus on various experiences that can be enjoyed during travel.”

Highlighting that the LG Omnipod is a mobile home space, Park pointed out that the core of its design lies in the immersive display that surrounds the entire inside space and the tunnel screen that runs from the ceiling to floor.

Ryu Geung-seon, CEO of Kakao Mobility, emphasized the importance of mobility’s infinite expansion for a better future.

“In the future, we will look to enhance the experience of moving through minimizing unnecessary movements by transporting things and services, turning vehicles into spaces where more productive activities can be carried out with autonomous driving technology,” said Ryu in his opening remarks.

“Kakao Mobility cannot achieve all these goals alone. We will continue to invest in developing future technology while cooperating and coexisting with partner companies from in and out of the country.”

The one-day conference also virtually brought together global leaders in the mobile industry, including Aurora CEO Chris Urmson and Volocopter CEO Florian Reuter.

“The air taxi will be one alternative of many, seamlessly integrated with other transportation modes as well and that is the reason why we are partnering with companies such as Kakao because we expect there to be deep integration in order to offer seamless, end-to-end customer experience,” said Reuter.

The Volocopter CEO said urban air mobility will continue to grow bigger in the global market, saying that over 40 cities across the world have lined up for the commercial launch of the aircraft maker’s product.