Hyundai Motor Group has revealed Tiger (Transforming Intelligent Ground Excursion Robot), the company’s second Ultimate Mobility Vehicle (UMV) and the first designed to be ‘uncrewed.’

The Tiger, which is designed to carry various types of payload while travelling over challenging terrain, is being developed by Hyundai Motor Group’s New Horizons Studio, which has its headquarters in Mountain View, California. The studio was established in late 2020 to develop UMVs, drawing on research and innovation leadership from Silicon Valley and other innovation hubs.

John Suh, head of the New Horizons Studio, said: “Vehicles like Tiger, and the technologies underpinning it, give us an opportunity to push our imaginations. We are constantly looking at ways to rethink vehicle design and development and re-define the future of transportation and mobility.”

Tiger is designed to function as a mobile scientific exploration platform in extreme and remote locations. Based on a modular platform architecture, its features include an advanced leg and wheel locomotion system, 360deg 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.

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.

However, when the vehicle gets stuck or needs to travel over terrain that is difficult or impassable for wheels alone, it uses its walking ability — a feature previously seen in Elevate, Hyundai’s first-ever UMV concept with moveable legs, which debuted at the 2019 Consumer Electronic Show. The main difference between Elevate and Tiger is that, while the former can carry passengers, the latter is uncrewed.

The New Horizons Studio has been focused on developing technologies to enable concept vehicles such as Tiger. These technologies include wheel-leg locomotion, high-performance materials and structures, high-performance power systems, chassis and body systems, and virtual development and evaluation systems.

Each of these represents significant technical progress that can be applied to any vehicle and will speed the development of advanced mobility solutions.