This Walking Car Concept is similar to an AT-AT Walker from Star Wars
During the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, mobility was once again one of the big issues. Hyundai also showed a number of innovative technologies. One of which was most noticeable: the Elevate Walking Car concept. An advanced vehicle that can handle any terrain thanks to 4 legs.
First aid
Every first responder will indicate that the first 72 hours after a natural disaster is essential for saving lives. But often after a forest fire, an earthquake, a hurricane or a flood, the disaster area is hardly accessible for first aid and rescue services, let alone for humanitarian workers.
Ultimate Mobility Vehicle
The need for more efficient, faster and more flexible means of transport for use in disaster areas, Hyundai was able to develop the first vehicle with mobile legs. The Elevate Walking Car Concept is the world’s first Ultimate Mobility Vehicle (UMV). Technology has been used for electric vehicles and robots, so that the vehicle can move much more easily in hard-to-reach terrain than even the best off-road vehicles.
The possibilities are unlimited
” After a tsunami or an earthquake, the usual rescue vehicles can only come to the edge of the disaster area to drop relief workers, who will have to walk the rest of the journey on foot, and Elevate can actually enter the disaster area and, if necessary, climb over the rubble and other junk, this technology is amply calculated for such emergencies, “said John Suh, Vice President and Head of Hyundai Cradle.
” In addition, people with physical disabilities in places where there is no driveway that complies with the American ADA Act (ADA = Americans with Disabilities Act) could call up the autonomous Hyundai Elevate, which will come to them autonomously and at the right height, so that the disabled person can drive in with his wheelchair – and of course at the place of destination vice versa. “The possibilities are unlimited. “
Star Wars
If you see the picture below you can not deny that The Elevate Walking Car Concept is a bit like the AT-AT Walker (All Terrain Armored Transport) from Star Wars.
Robot Legs
The Elevate is based on a modular EV platform on which various bodywork can be placed for various tasks. The robot legs have 5 degrees of mobility and an electric motor in each wheel. The design is unprecedentedly able to run in the manner of both mammals and reptiles and is, therefore, able to move in any direction.
If you decide to drive, the legs will fully fold in and the electricity supply to the joints will be closed. The use of an integrated passive wheel suspension optimizes the efficiency of the batteries on board. As a result, the Elevate can also join the other traffic on the motorway.
But no other vehicle is capable of stepping over a wall of one and a half meters, like the Elevate, or over a ditch of one and a half meters wide. Because the Elevate can literally run away in all kinds of unpaved terrain and can reach a track width of more than four and a half meters. During such maneuvers, the passenger compartment remains completely horizontal.
New standard of mobility
The combination of wheels and flexible legs sets a new standard of mobility with higher walking speeds, unique dynamic positions while driving and fully controlled movements of the ends of the legs.
The Elevate is a vehicle that has been fully developed to be able to work in the roughest terrain while offering the occupants all the usual comfort. Technological improvements include:
- Robotic legs with five levels of mobility and an electric motor in all wheels
- The ability to walk like a mammal and a reptile, in every direction
- The ability to step over a one and a half meter high wall or a one and a half meter wide ditch
- Electric motors block the legs in any desired position
- The modular electric vehicle platform