 |
| Hyundai has a four-wheeled robot that can carry anything you want |
The South Korean automaker Hyundai makes mobile machines. But the company is now working to solve the problem of mobility on a much smaller scale than usual.
Instead of the new car, the company wants to show its vision for the future of robotics through MobED at CES 2022 in January 2022.
MobED is a four-wheeled robot designed to transport anything you want, from parcels to people, from TV screens to trays of drinks.
The robot is 67 cm long, 60 cm wide and has four 12-inch tires that can be independently controlled by three motors at either end of the axle.
Thanks to the complex suspension system, the central platform can be tilted in any direction so that the robot can maintain the load level and adjust the angle of the load when entering and exiting.
The company calls the Android mobile platform. The official press release states that it wants to sell MobED to industrial partners who will then adapt it to specific use cases.
The price is still unknown. According to some of the company's videos, it was considering a variety of applications.
MobED can be your personal assistant in transporting parcels and shopping bags. Future versions could be powerful enough to attract people.
The company said in a press release that MobED can be used as a portable device for the elderly or disabled if the platform is large enough for installation. It can also be used as a stroller or recreational stroller.
Hyundai sees travel as a service
The robot has a maximum speed of 30 kilometers per hour and can travel for 4 hours on a single charge. But how to navigate is unknown.
Hyundai does not mention the sensors, whether it is a camera or a lidar. The company also didn't say whether it had self-driving programs too cumbersome to develop for partners.
Hyundai isn't the only automaker championing this versatile robotic technology.
Toyota and Honda have invested heavily in this area. They are developing machines that could one day be used in nursing homes or as personal mobile devices.
With the development of autonomous driving technology, many car manufacturers are seeing new areas of application for this newly acquired experience. MobED is the latest example of this trend.