Crystal Magazine Feb 11, 2021
Hyundai Motor Group Unveils TIGER Uncrewed Ultimate Mobility Vehicle Concept
Hyundai Motor Group has revealed TIGER (Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot), the company’s second Ultimate Mobility Vehicle (UMV) and the first designed to be uncrewed. The transforming intelligent ground excursion robot is designed to carry various types of payload while traveling over challenging terrain.
TIGER 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.
“Vehicles like TIGER, and the technologies underpinning it, give 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.”
Concept vehicle
showcases capability across remote and inaccessible terrain
TIGER’s
exceptional capabilities are designed to function as a mobile scientific
exploration platform in extreme, remote locations. Based on a 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.
A large load bay housed
within its body means TIGER can carry goods for delivery, or be deployed to
deliver aid packages in emergency situations. Leg-wheel articulation enables
TIGER to tackle a range of extreme situations while keeping payloads more level
than a typical ground vehicle.
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. But when the vehicle gets
stuck or needs to travel over terrain that is difficult or impassable for
wheels alone, it uses its walking ability to get unstuck or more easily travel
over that terrain. This was a feature previously seen in Elevate, Hyundai Motor
Group’s first-ever UMV concept with moveable legs, which debuted at the 2019
Consumer Electronic Show (CES).
Like Elevate, Hyundai's other transforming four leg-wheel ground vehicle, TIGER shares similar characteristics such as its legs and wheels. The difference between Elevate and TIGER is that, while the former can carry passengers, the latter is uncrewed. Both TIGER and Elevate blend robotic and wheeled locomotion technologies, allowing them to traverse terrain beyond the limitations of even the most capable off-road vehicle.
First version designed
in Silicon Valley with global development partnerships
The first version of TIGER is X-1 (the X stands for experimental) and brings together a wide-range of technological and design expertise. The project is being led by Hyundai Motor Group’s New Horizons Studio, while working in close partnership with Autodesk, a leading engineering design software company.
“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 possible,” 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 fuses Autodesk’s generative design capabilities with Hyundai’s growing R&D capabilities in mobility. The teams have been working together to create a lightweight but incredibly strong structure, with the legs and certain chassis elements created using carbon fiber composite additive printing.
Collaborating
with external concept design experts Sundberg-Ferar, New Horizons Studio has
been developing TIGER X-1 to deliver and retrieve critical payloads across
rugged terrain. These capabilities make the concept vehicle ideal for
360-degree surface evaluation, in areas struck by natural disaster, while
tackling challenging terrain, or even exploring the surface of another moon or
planet.
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