Hyundai Motor Group is back with a new “walking car” robot. The robot runs on wheels, stands up on its feet and travels on rugged areas. The concept of this time is that it is designed to carry luggage and is small and can be carried by drone.
The TIGER is the first “unmanned” UMV concept born of Hyundai Motor Group’s UMV (Ultimate Mobility Vehicle) development base in New Horizons Studio, Mountain View, California. The name TIGER is an acronym for Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot. In 2019, the company announced Elevate, a concept car that carries people by wheeling and quadrupedal walking at CES, but TIGER follows it and is smaller than Elevate.
Image Credit: Screenshot / Hyundai
The concept isn’t always a real product, but New Horizons Studio director John Suh told TechCrunch that he wanted TIGER to go live “as soon as possible” and would probably take about five years. Supplemented.
According to Sue, the next two years will work on solving core technical issues to solidify the basic design. In 2023 and 2024, it will reach the beta product stage and will begin advanced testing before it finally goes on the market.
The current version of TIGER is based on a modular platform architecture similar to the larger Elevate. The robot will be equipped with a foot-wheel movement system, 360-degree directional control, a storage bay for loading luggage, and various sensors for remote observation. Designed to be mounted on a drone, it can charge the robot while flying to its destination.
TIGER moves in two modes depending on the terrain. In uncomplicated flat terrain, the robot’s legs are stowed and move on four wheels. When TIGER gets stuck or finds an obstacle such as a small wall, embankment, or log in front of him, he stands up, locks his wheels, and starts walking.
Announced this time is the first version of TIGER called the experimental X-1, and it is expected that another version will appear from New Horizons in the future. This TIGER was created in collaboration with engineering design software company Autodesk and concept design company Sundberg-Ferar.