Hyundai reveals wacky walking car

One of weirder machines at the 2019 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) was the Hyundai Elevate Concept, which can drive like a normal car but also features several walking modes thanks to its extendable 'legs'.

The Hyundai Elevate concept would be ideally suited to provide an opportunistic view of live music gigs from access roads and facilitate the easy cleaning of gutters at home.

But the real reason for the peculiar concept is to save lives.

Although Hyundai didn’t have a full-sized concept on display in Las Vegas at CES, instead using a 1/8 scale model, the idea is to combine a conventional car with robotic legs for a first-response vehicle that could get to places regular off-road vehicles simply cannot go, by elevating on its metal limbs.

"When a tsunami or earthquake hits, current rescue vehicles can only deliver first responders to the edge of the debris field. They have to go the rest of the way by foot," said John Suh, Hyundai vice president.

"Elevate can drive to the scene and climb right over flood debris or crumbled concrete," he said.

Each of the four insectoid-like legs has a wheel at the end, which can be driven independently via an electric powertrain, allowing it to roll, walk and even climb into hazardous areas.

Hyundai says it can travel at regular highway speeds when in 'stowed' drive mode and also has mammalian and reptilian 'walking gaits' to adapt to tricky terrain.

The Hyundai Elevate Concept is one of the more intriguing prototypes we've seen and despite only creating a small model of the walking/driving machine, the creation has been three years in the making – with a little help from Detroit-based industrial design group Sundberg-Ferar.

"By combining the power of robotics with Hyundai's latest EV technology, Elevate has the ability to take people where no car has been before, and redefine our perception of vehicular freedom," said David Byron, design manager at Sundberg-Ferar.

"Imagine a car stranded in a snow ditch just 10 feet off the highway being able to walk or climb over the treacherous terrain, back to the road potentially saving its injured passengers – this is the future of vehicular mobility," he said.

The robotic legs have five degrees of freedom and the passenger pod is interchangeable, allowing emergency services to equip the UMV (ultimate mobility vehicle) based on the conditions and requirements.