‘Tiger’, an unmanned walking mobility developed by’New Horizons Studio’, an organization in charge of future mobility of Hyundai Motor Group. It is a transforming robot that walks on four legs on rough ground and runs on four wheels on flat ground. Provided by Hyundai Motor Group
Hyundai Motor Group has unveiled’Tiger’, an unmanned walking mobility. It is a transforming robot that walks on four legs in rough terrain and runs on four wheels when it encounters a flat terrain. It is evaluated that it has presented a new product that exceeds the limit of mobility by combining mobility and robotics technology.
○ Fusion of mobility and robotics
Hyundai Motor Group introduced Tiger for the first time on the 10th through its official YouTube channel. Tiger is named after the first letter of an English word meaning’Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot’. Tiger, which was unveiled on this day, was the first concept model and was named’X-1′.
Tiger is about 80 cm long and about 40 cm wide. It weighs about 12 kg. The biggest feature is the four-wheeled legs. Four wheels and four legs are combined to achieve unprecedented mobility. When going over uneven terrain or over obstacles, it walks on four legs. When it encounters a flat terrain, it turns into a four-wheel drive vehicle by pushing the leg inward. On the way, if the road is blocked, use your walking ability to move to a place where ordinary vehicles cannot go and then drive again.
You can easily change the direction left and right as well as forward and backward. Hyundai Motor Group explained, “By combining intelligent robot technology and wheels, we designed it so that it can travel even in rough terrain where even off-road vehicles cannot go.”
There are many applications of Tiger. Tiger can be used to send goods to areas that are difficult to access by general vehicles, such as downtown as well as remote areas. It can also be used to transport emergency supplies to places where it is difficult for people to enter, such as a disaster site. It can also be combined with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to fly over long distances and then land and transport.
Tiger has a cargo compartment inside, which is also beneficial for product protection. It can be safely transported even on irregular terrain by keeping it level at all times with robotic legs. Thanks to this, it can carry more than a vehicle with a conventional suspension.
○ Enter the logistics robot market
Tiger was developed by Hyundai Motor Group’s future mobility organization’New Horizons Studio’. The studio, which opened in Silicon Valley, USA in September last year, plays a role in shaping future mobility. Tiger is the first. The studio developed Tiger based on the walking mobility’Elevate’ that Hyundai Motor Group unveiled at’CES 2019′, the world’s largest IT and home appliance exhibition.
During the Tiger development process, collaborations with various companies took place. Representatives include’Auto Desk’, a leading company in the field of engineering design based on artificial intelligence (AI), and’Sundberg-Ferra’, a concept design company. “We will work with innovative companies around the world to present new possibilities for future mobility,” said John Seo, Managing Director of New Horizons Studio.
In December of last year, Hyundai Motor Group decided to acquire Boston Dynamics, the world’s leading robot company, for about KRW 1 trillion, and began to combine robot technology with future mobility. Robot technology that immediately senses and responds to changes in surrounding conditions is essential for implementing fully autonomous driving.
Hyundai Motor Group plans to enter the logistics robot market with a large market size and high growth potential in the future. It will also start a service-type robot business that can serve as a guide and support in various industries such as construction site supervision and facility security. In the long run, it will also enter the humanoid robot business.
Reporter Kim Il-gyu [email protected]