The Hyundai Tiger X-1 it has four wheels, each powered by an electric motor. Each of these wheels is at the end of a long, flexible leg. The autonomous vehicle will move as far as it can on the wheels, but when it encounters obstacles that it cannot pass, it will rise on its legs and pass over them. The legs can also bend as the wheels roll over uneven terrain, maintaining the level of the cargo area. The vehicle can also drive in any direction – forward, backward or from side to side – using the wheels or legs.
Hyundai predicts that it will be used for difficult rescue operations after natural disasters such as earthquakes. A kind of autonomous traveling freighter, it is not designed to transport people, only supplies.
The Tiger (which stands for Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot with “X-1” indicating its experimental nature), could also connect to an unmanned aerial drone that can transport it to and from remote locations, Hyundai said. The Tiger and the drone could also charge each other’s batteries as needed.
This cargo-only Tiger will require at least another five years of development and testing before it is ready for use in the real world, according to Hyundai. A vehicle like like Elevate, which can transport people safely, will take longer
The Tiger is being developed by Hyundai’s New Horizons Studio in California, a division of the Hyundai Motor Group that designs vehicles that can go places that ordinary cars and trucks cannot.
Vehicles like this can be used to explore the surface of the moon or other planets, said John Suh, director of New Horizons Studio. They can also be used as taxis, with the legs raising and lowering the vehicle to make it more accessible to people in wheelchairs, he said.
Hyundai is in talks to take control of the robotics company Boston Dynamics, but Hyundai executives said Boston Dynamics was not involved in this project. Instead, Hyundai worked with design software company Autodesk and Sundberg-Ferar, a vehicle concept company.