Hyundai’s walking car redefines mobility

The South Korean carmaker’s TIGER X-1 self-driving concept car redefines mobility for the future, as it could be used to explore other planets or deliver medicine or food for people in remote areas after a disaster.

Hyundai has taken giant strides in its efforts to redefine mobility through a smaller, self-driving pod which does not carry any passengers, according to The South African.

TIGER’s modular platform has more than a few elements in common with Hyundai’s Elevate walking car concept from 2019, reported Car and Driver.

Hyundai is getting serious about building a ‘walking car’ with four legs https://t.co/Fcr1GfCBD6 pic.twitter.com/H5ve9BXrvw

— The Verge (@verge) February 9, 2021

John Suh said the New Horizons Studio team, working in partnership with Autodesk and the Detroit-based studio Sundberg-Ferar, took the Elevate and adapted it to be used autonomously for carrying goods or sensors.

Multiple Potential Uses:

Suh said a vehicle like this could be used on the moon or to explore other planets. On Earth, a vehicle like the TIGER could be used to deliver products to people in cities, medicine, or food to people in remote areas after a disaster or simply as a mobile science platform in places that are difficult for humans to reach.

“If TIGER’s wheeled legs can’t get it all the way to its destination, the robot can be deployed from an unmanned aerial vehicle. This flying drone can even recharge TIGER’s batteries, or vice versa, depending upon what’s needed in any given situation.”

Without a front or a back, manufacturing TIGER would mean building the same parts over and over, which will help with reliability and possible repairs.

“Our vision and goal is to produce product, and therefore it’s much more than a science project,” Suh said.

Picture: Twitter/@TheVerge