Hyundai have developed a concept car that can walk. Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot (TIGER) can operate as an autonomous four-wheel drive vehicle or a four-legged walking machine.
The Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot (TIGER) is Hyundai Motor Group’s second Ultimate Mobility Vehicle (UMV) and the first one to operate autonomously. The UMV is designed to carry various types of payload while travelling over challenging terrain. The “X” in TIGER X-1 stands for “experiment”.
Hyundai unveiled the TIGER on 10 February in Seoul, South Korea. Hyundai Motor Group’s New Horizons Studio, headquartered in Mountain View, California, is the location at which TIGER is being developed in partnership with Autodesk and Sundberg-Ferar.
A large load bay has been designed within the body of the TIGER. This is intended for it to carry large goods over rough terrain or to deliver aid packages in emergency situations. The UMV is based on a modular platform architecture and features a sophisticated, leg-and-wheel locomotion system, 360-degree directional control, and a range of sensors for remote observation. This combination of a leg and wheel will help keep the load bay level at all times, even while moving over extreme terrain.
Once the legs of the TIGER are retracted, it drives like an all-wheel-drive vehicle using rolling friction. It is in this mode that the UMV is most efficient. If the vehicle encounters terrain that is unconquerable by the wheels alone, it will rely on its walking abilities to overcome. The same concept can also be seen Hyundai’s previous UMV, “Elevate”. Both TIGER and Elevate blend robotic and wheeled locomotion technologies, allowing them to traverse terrain beyond the limitations of even the most capable off-road vehicles. Elevate can carry passengers while the TIGER is “uncrewed”.
In the vision of New Horizons Studio, “UMV concepts in development do not rely solely on wheels and are expected to address challenging driving situations – for example, a car with robotic legs could save lives as the first responder in natural disasters; or people without access to a curb ramp could hail a car to walk up to their front door, level itself and allow wheelchairs to roll in.”
“Vehicles like TIGER, and the technologies underpinning it, give us an opportunity to push our imaginations,” said Dr John Suh, Head of New Horizons Studio. “We are constantly looking at ways to rethink vehicle design and development and re-define the future of transportation and mobility.”
Also read: Kia CV: Their First Dedicated Electric Vehicle
Story: Cherry Mathew Roy
