Hyundai plans to enter the future of cars with the “car that walks”. The South Korean automaker’s new concept vehicle that looks like it’s straight out of a Star Wars movie will be developed at a new development center built with an investment of $20 million. The new Horizon Studio, opened in Montana, USA, will be intended to produce vehicles for future customers. These new vehicles will be designed to traverse difficult terrain not intended for standard vehicles. The company says, “Hyundai is looking beyond a chassis, four wheels and a combustion engine, an electric motor or a hydrogen fuel cell. Indeed, the company is already considering even more radical transport versions to improve the way we move.
Specifically, the facility will work on the development of Ultimate Mobility Vehicles (UMVs). Among these UVM is the legged car that will be able to walk on anything that comes its way. The South Korean company has previously showcased UMV designs at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES). The Elevate concept, which is similar to Star Wars’ All-Terrain Armored Transport (AT-AT) walkers, combines a traditional wheel with a leg that folds out for rough terrain.
His goal is to solve difficult driving scenarios and potentially save lives as a first responder during natural disasters. Hyundai even showed off a prototype New York taxi capable of climbing stairs to pick up specially disabled passengers.
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After the unusual designs, there is a second concept, an “intelligent unmanned morphing ground excursion robot” that can carry a variety of payloads while traversing difficult terrain. Note that the Horizon Studio will initially converge its efforts on the production of these two vehicles.
The Hyundai Elevate Concept is the world’s first Ultimate Mobility Vehicle (UMV), combining electric automobile and robot technologies to traverse terrain beyond the capabilities of the most capable off-road vehicle. The Elevate concept is built on a modular electric vehicle platform that can swap different bodies depending on the situation.
The robotic leg architecture has five degrees of freedom as well as wheel hub propulsion motors, and it’s powered by the most advanced electric actuator technology available.
