TIGER, Hyundai’s new concept car, can walk!

Hyundai has revealed an uncrewed ultimate mobility vehicle (UMV) concept named TIGER, an acronym for Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot. The company’s second UMV and the first designed to be unscrewed can carry various types of payload while travelling over challenging terrain.

TIGER, developed by Hyundai Motor Group’s New Horizons Studio in partnership with Autodesk and Sundberg-Ferar, is intended to carry payloads over remote and inaccessible terrain and designed to operate as a four-wheel drive vehicle or a four-legged walking machine.

“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.”

Hyundai says TIGER’s 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 helps TIGER carry goods for delivery. This lets the vehicle be used 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.