Responding to growing concern about the health impact of fine particulates, especially in highly-congested urban areas, the Hyundai Motor Group says they’re working on a smart air purification system that monitors air quality in real time to automatically filter the air going inside the car.

Combined with advanced filtering innovations, the technology can remove fine particulates even before passengers enter the car and can continuously purify the cabin air throughout a trip.

Conventional air purification systems only operate for a set period when activated, turning off after a designated time regardless of current cabin air quality. However, with Hyundai’s system, the purification function automatically activates if it detects that air quality inside the cabin decreases to ‘Fair’. It then maintains the cleaning process until the air quality improves to an ‘Excellent’ level. Even if the exterior air quality is at ‘Poor’ level, the system can purify air inside to ‘Excellent’ quality in almost instantaneously.

Even more interesting is that passengers can monitor interior air quality levels via the car’s audio-video navigation (AVN) screen, with a visual 16-bar digital display of air quality that fluctuates in real-time. This is categorized according to Korea Environmental Corporation Standards, which categorizes four levels of air quality based on the presence of fine particulate matter: Excellent, Good, Fair, and Poor.

Rigorous testing guarantees that the purifier’s fan motors and sensors will maintain full functionality at environments of both extreme heat and cold.

The new interior purification system is paired with advanced high-performance air filters which enhance the collection rate of fine particulates from 94 to 99 percent. Moreover, the new filtration system features a charcoal-based deodorization function and can automatically close car windows to assist the purification process.

The company says this technology is already under consideration for future Hyundai and Kia vehicles.