#CES2019: Hyundai showed unreal four-legged 'walking car' project
CES 2019 hosted some really weird, off-the-beat gadgets, but in the automotive category, it was Hyundai that blew our minds. The company announced a four-legged 'walking car', which, when ready, would surpass the limitations of conventional vehicles and walk like a humongous robot. It would walk at high speeds, even crawl/climb, to transverse diverse terrains, just like how we see in movies.
Project Elevate: Car with real, bendable legs
At the trade show, Hyundai detailed Project Elevate, its mission to develop an electric car with four bendable legs, each attached to wheels at the end. These legs will have a series of joints and in-wheel motors to transform the whole vehicle into a walking robot. They would expand out, allowing the vehicle to stand up and walk/crawl like mammals and reptiles.
Elevate would transverse diverse terrains
"It can go anywhere, it can drive like a regular car but when it gets to a situation where a normal wheeled vehicle reached its limit, this can standup - crawl over various terrain," David Byron from Sundberg Ferar, Hyundai's project partner, told Fox News.
Hyundai expects various use-cases of Elevate
The idea sounds completely insane, but Hyundai is pretty serious about it. The company says a car like this could be employed for a range of tasks, including rescue missions in forests, mountains, or other hard-to-reach areas. It even stresses the vehicle could climb a five-foot wall, step over a five-foot gap, walk over diverse terrain, and achieve a 15-foot wide track width.
However, there's no timeline for production
We all would like to see a giant car walking down the street, but as of now, Hyundai is nowhere near making this a reality. The company has only showcased a small-scale prototype and has no timeline for the launch of the actual car. Meaning, the final avatar of Elevate could be very much different from what the company has unveiled.
