By John Bugailiskis
LAS VEGAS — Hyundai Motor Group is going all in on its vision that robots are the future of mobility at CES 2022. They even coined the phrase “metamobility” to describe how connecting robots to the metaverse will enable people to move freely between both the real world and virtual reality.
The South Korean automaker wants robots to become an extension of our own physical senses, allowing us to “reshape and enrich our daily lives.”
The problem is the robots, including “Spot”, that took centre stage with Hyundai executive chair Euisun Chung at media day yesterday, still look pretty creepy. Last year Hyundai invested $1.1 billion for a controlling share of Boston Dynamics. At the time, the company was best known for the use of their robots as human hunters in an episode of Black Mirror. Suffice to say the staff at Hyundai still have some work ahead of them to stop these robots from creating nightmares before they can begin enriching lives.
Chung spoke of how robots will help “expand human reach,” and will drive the paradigm shift towards future mobility, going beyond the traditional means of transportation to “fulfill unlimited freedom of movement for humankind.”
Robotics has become an essential strategy of Hyundai’s transformation into a smart mobility solution provider. With the introduction of metamobility it wants to create a smart device-metaverse that will empower people to overcome the physical limitations of movement in time and space.
“At Hyundai, we are harnessing the power of robotics to enable unlimited freedom of movement and progress for humanity,” explained Chung.
He added that Hyundai’s vision for metamobility would allow users to move beyond the current restrictions of VR so that they could take actions that would create changes in the physical world. For example, when a user accesses a digital twin of their home in the metaverse they could feed and hug a pet anywhere in the world through the use of an avatar robot.
The company envisions the distinctions between future mobilities will be blurred through the further development of robotics technology, such as AI and autonomous driving. Diverse mobilities, including automobiles and Urban Air Mobility (UAM) will also serve as smart devices for access to the metaverse platform.
Chung also revealed Hyundai’s Plug & Drive (PnD) and Drive & Lift (DnL) modular platforms as all-in-one solutions for its unlimited Mobility of Things (MoT) ecosystem. Dong Jin Hyun, vice-president and head of Hyundai Motor Group Robotics Lab, highlighted the new PnD module, a single-wheel robotics platform that combines intelligent steering, braking, in-wheel electric drive and suspension hardware that can be scaled up or down, for any purpose, size or application. LiDAR and camera sensors allow a PnD-enabled object to move autonomously.
The PnD module is intended to provide mobility for inanimate things, from small objects to community spaces. Hyun said the module’s applications are nearly limitless, including providing freedom of movement for people with disabilities, automated logistics, reconfigurable interior space and public transportation with individual compartments for social distancing and last mile mobility.
“In the world to come, we will not move our things, but things will actually move around us with the PnD module making traditionally inanimate objects mobile,” Hyun said.
“We are directing all our ambitious robotics engineering and creative efforts towards realizing an even bigger vision than ever — the unlimited mobility of things ecosystem. The goal is for robotics to enable all kinds of personal mobility, connected to communicate, move and perform tasks autonomously.”
Utilizing the DnL module Hyundai also introduced the MobED (Mobile Eccentric Droid) small mobility platform. With DnL mounted on each wheel, MobED can lift the platform up and down, so the body can stay level as the MobED traverses uneven terrain or low barriers such as steps or speed bumps.
Designed for full versatility and modularity, MobED can be utilized for various applications, depending on the mounted device and can be extended to both manned and unmanned system variants.
