[News Article] Hyundai’s 'walking vehicle' obtains US patents
Hyundai’s 'walking
vehicle' obtains U.S. patents
By Kan Hyeong-woo, The
Korea Herald - Hyundai Motor Group has obtained patents for walking vehicles in
the US, taking the next step in making the South Korean auto giant’s futuristic
four-legged cars a reality. According to the US
Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, two patent applications for walking
vehicles were published under the names of both Hyundai and Kia on July 6,
about 19 months after the two companies filed for the patents on Dec. 31, 2021. The patents protect
the technologies of Hyundai’s concept car, Elevate, an electric vehicle that
can transition between driving on flat surfaces with wheels and walking over
the most treacherous terrains with robotic legs. The automaker
showcased a small prototype of Elevate for the first time at the Consumer
Electronics Show in 2019. With its ability to mimic both mammalian and
reptilian gaits, Hyundai Motor touted Elevate’s capacity to play a
multi-purpose role in exploration, construction and disaster relief where fully
accessible roads are not available. “Companies try to
establish maximum protection for their future products before
commercialization. ... Patents serve as an indicator that shows the direction
in which a firm is headed,” said Kim Pil-su, an automotive engineering
professor at Daelim University. “Through the patent
registration, (Hyundai Motor Group) intends to become a pioneer in the market
for specialized robot mobility that can navigate through unusual terrains.” Lee Tae-hoon, a
patent attorney, also placed importance on the latest patent registration,
saying “If a company has a patent in several countries, it is likely that the
company sees the technology as important and could be thinking about
commercializing it.” The Elevate concept
was co-developed by Hyundai Cradle, the automaker's open innovation center, and
Sundberg-Ferar, a US design company. Hyundai later launched New Horizons
Studio, a unit focused on the development of Ultimate Mobility vehicles, in
September 2020. “When a tsunami or
earthquake hits, current rescue vehicles can only deliver first responders to
the edge of the debris field. They have to go the rest of the way by foot.
Elevate can drive to the scene and climb right over flood debris or crumbled
concrete,” said John Suh, then head of Hyundai Cradle, at the 2019 unveiling
event. According to
Hyundai, Elevate is capable of climbing a 1.5-meter wall, stepping over a
1.5-meter gap and navigating through different terrains at an average speed of
5 kilometers per hour while maintaining its main body and passenger level. The
company said the vehicle could drive at high speeds just like any other car on
the road when the robotic legs are folded away and the wheels begin rolling. Hyundai Motor has
continued to further advance its vision of the ultimate mobility vehicle. In
February 2021, New Horizons Studio also unveiled the concept model of
Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot, dubbed TIGER, a multi-purpose
vehicle that has wheels on robotic legs in a similar fashion to Elevate. The
biggest difference between Elevate and TIGER is that the former can carry
passengers and the latter is an unmanned machine. Professor Kim noted
that Hyundai already has the world’s best walking robot technology with the
2020 acquisition of Boston Dynamics, pinning high hopes on future collaboration
between the two firms. “Boston Dynamics has
great technology but they couldn’t fully commercialize it. That’s why Hyundai
Motor Group stepped in,” he said. Boston Dynamics is well-known for its
signature four-legged robot dog, Spot. In January this
year, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun highlighted the
importance of future mobility and robotics during a New Year’s speech to
employees. “We (plan to)
present (purpose-built vehicles) that fit the transportation goals of both
people and objects to the market in earnest,” said Chung. Source: http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230711000637
2023.07.13
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