TIGER Hyundai’s robot that can walk and drive.
SEOUL / MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., February 10, 2021 – Hyundai Motor Group revealed the company’s second Ultimate Mobility Vehicle designed to be uncrewed (without any crew). Hyundai calls it TIGER (Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot).
The robot is capable of driving as well as walking on 4 legs, similar to the robots we have seen with the Boston Dynamics spot robot. Spot however cannot drive on wheels, Tiger X can drive when required. Hyundai did buy Boston Dynamics in Dec 2020 for $1 billion.
TIGER Hyundai’s robot that can walk and drive is being developed by Hyundai Motor Group’s New Horizons Studio, headquartered in Mountain View, California. The studio was established in late 2020 to develop UMVs drawing on research and innovation leadership from Silicon Valley and other innovation hubs.
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“Vehicles like TIGER, and the technologies underpinning it, gives 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.”
Hyundai Motor Group’s first-ever UMV concept with moveable legs, Elevate shown at the 2019 Consumer Electronic Show (CES). The new concept has the driving feature with its legs retracted. TIGER drives like an all-wheel-drive vehicle and is in its most efficient mode because it moves by rolling traction. The difference between Elevate and TIGER is that Elevate can carry passengers while TIGER is designed to carry a payload.
Also Read: Dragonfish the latest tilt-rotor VTOL drone from Autel Robotics.
As per Hyundai, TIGER’s exceptional capabilities are designed to function as a mobile scientific exploration platform in extreme, remote locations. Based on modular platform architecture, its features include a sophisticated leg and wheel locomotion system, 360-degree directional control, and a range of sensors for remote observation. It is also intended to connect to unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which can fully charge and deliver TIGER to inaccessible locations.
The vehicle is being developed by Hyundai Motor Group’s New Horizons Studio in partnership with Autodesk (engineering design software company) and Sundberg-Ferar.
TIGER is capable of carrying goods for delivery or delivering aid packages for emergencies and inaccessible terrains. The robot also keeps the payloads more level than other ground vehicles. It is ideal for 360-degree surface evaluation, in areas struck by a natural disaster while tackling challenging terrain, or even exploring the surface of another moon or planet.
As per Hyundai, the first version TIGER is X-1 where X stands for experimental. “Working closely with the team at Hyundai on the TIGER X-1 vehicle, using advanced technology such as generative design to push the boundaries of increasing strength while reducing weight in transportation, is exactly what we mean when we talk about creating the new possibilities,” said Srinath Jonnalagadda, Vice President of Business Strategy for Design and Manufacturing at Autodesk. “New design, engineering, and manufacturing techniques enabled by Autodesk Fusion 360 help today’s modern, collaborative teams get to production faster and more efficiently.”
TIGER X-1 uses Autodesk’s generative design capabilities and Hyundai and Autodesk are working together to create a lightweight but strong structure with legs. Some chassis components are created using carbon fiber composite additive printing.
Hyundai is also working with Sundberg–Ferar, a Product Innovation Studio “While developing TIGER with New Horizons Studio, the team at Sundberg-Ferar was looking to create a robot that maximized the efficiency of wheeled motion with the articulation of a quadruped to expand the possibility of reaching more remote locations,” said David Byron, Manager of Design and Innovation Strategy at Sundberg-Ferar. “TIGER is a modular platform design allowing different bodies to be attached to the chassis for unique applications such as cargo delivery or surveillance in locations not suitable for humans.”
As per Hyundai using a combination of robotics and wheeled locomotion technology, Elevate, TIGER, and other vehicles by New Horizons Studio are expected to redefine vehicular mobility.