Hyundai Creates New Horizons Studio Unit To Build Vehicles With Robotic Legs

Hyundai has announced the formation of New Horizons Studio, a new unit focused on the development of Ultimate Mobility Vehicles (UMVs).

The Korean automaker’s New Horizons Studio envisions building a number of futuristic vehicles that “wander with unprecedented mobility”. These vehicles will target customers who have a need to travel in unconventional and off-road terrain and will be subject to extremely challenging applications and environments.

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The first project being developed by the new studio is the Hyundai Elevate that was first unveiled at CES in 2019, which has massive robotic legs instead of conventional wheels that allow it to walk over difficult terrain. Hyundai says the Elevate and other vehicles being developed by the New Horizons Studio have the ability “to redefine vehicular mobility.”

The division is being led by Vice President Dr. John Suh, who has held various leadership roles at Hyundai Motor Group since 2011. He also served as the founding director of Hyundai Ventures and then led Hyundai CRADLE (Center for Robotic-Augmented Design in Living Experiences) at its base in Silicon Valley.

“We aim to create the world’s first transformer-class vehicle, also known as the Ultimate Mobility Vehicle,” Dr. Suh stated.

Hyundai has not provided a timeline as to when we can expect to see the company’s Ultimate Mobility Vehicles become a reality. What we do know is that the original Elevate concept was based on an electric skateboard platform and could be fitted with different bodies to accommodate various needs.