[Hyundai Motor]
LAS VEGAS -- At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Hyundai Motor showcased "Elevate", a concept model for its experimental four-legged electric vehicle capable of traversing unforgiving terrains to reach disaster sites.
A smaller prototype of Elevate, demonstrated at Hyundai's booth, walked across the stage and climbed stairs using robotic legs. It moved around using wheels attached to the end of each leg.
The ultimate mobility vehicle (UMV) was developed by Hyundai's corporate venturing and open innovation business wing, Hyundai Cradle, and American design company Sundberg-Ferar. The concept is based on creating a modular electric vehicle capable of switching different bodies for specific situations.
Hyundai said the four-legged vehicle, which combines the power of robotics and EV technology, would redefine the boundaries and perceptions of vehicular mobility with its four highly dexterous and movable legs utilized in ways beyond the imagination.
Elevate can walk at an average of five kilometers (3.1 miles) per hour, climb over the wall which is 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) tall, and step over a 1.5-meter gap while keeping its body and passengers completely level.
"The possibilities are limitless," Cradle head John Suh told an audience at the showcasing event, adding Elevate is capable of driving and climbing over debris to reach a disaster site only reachable by foot. He said that technology used in the creation of Elevate could be applied to other fields such as supporting the disabled.
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