At this year’s Auto Shanghai event, Unity China introduced three key innovations designed to strengthen its position in the automotive sector: a digital twin factory platform, an “emotional” cockpit system, and an in-vehicle gaming ecosystem anchored around the emerging “fourth screen.”
Three years into its automotive industry strategy, Unity China has formed partnerships with 35 global automakers, reportedly supporting 77 mass produced vehicle models and claiming approximately 85% of the domestic cockpit solution market.
As a subsidiary of Unity Technologies, Unity China has focused on localized R&D to address the specific needs of the Chinese market. Its localized Unity Engine, an evolution of Unity 6, now serves as a core real-time 3D technology platform underpinning advances in China’s smart automotive landscape.
The company’s first major announcement at Auto Shanghai was the launch of its digital twin factory project in collaboration with Nio. Utilizing the Unity Engine, the project enables comprehensive data collection and synchronization, real-time monitoring of automated guided vehicles (AGVs), robotic operation oversight, and virtual factory navigation. The digital twin framework mirrors and controls manufacturing processes in real-time, signaling Unity’s expansion beyond visualization to become a computation and data platform for the automotive value chain.
The second highlight was Unity HMI, an “emotional” cockpit solution that combines multimodal interaction, artificial intelligence, panoramic 3D visualization, and real-time physical rendering. Designed for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Unity HMI offers 12 features, including 3D map visualization, driver assistance displays, dynamic ambient environments, interactive 3D vehicle control, real-time weather monitoring, immersive lighting effects, AI-based meditation functions, and augmented reality-enhanced heads-up displays.
Unity China also outlined its ambitions for the “fourth screen,” viewing vehicle interiors as the next frontier for user engagement alongside televisions, computers, and smartphones. The rise of smart cockpit technologies and advanced displays has created new opportunities for immersive entertainment within vehicles.
To capitalize on this trend, Unity China established an in-vehicle gaming center. The center showcases emerging gaming experiences, including multi-screen interactive formats, panoramic audio, in-cabin extended reality, and gesture-based control. The company plans to launch a dedicated in-vehicle gaming platform and a hardware software development kit (SDK) to cultivate an ecosystem of original, automotive-specific games.
Localization remains central to Unity China’s growth strategy. The company has partnered with domestic system-on-chip (SoC) manufacturers such as MediaTek, Rockchip, Unisoc, and SemiDrive to optimize performance for local hardware environments. In the mapping sector, it collaborates with Amap, Tencent, Baidu, and NavInfo to advance real-time 3D map capabilities. Additionally, Unity China provides efficient front-end 3D human-machine interface solutions for leading companies developing autonomous driving technologies.
Looking ahead, Unity China intends to deepen collaborations with local technology suppliers to further enhance the localization and efficiency of its products, supporting the ongoing evolution of China’s smart automotive ecosystem.
KrASIA Connection features translated and adapted content that was originally published by 36Kr. This article was written by Han Yongchang for 36Kr.