Hyundai broadcasts the formation of New Horizons Studio
Hyundai's New Horizons Studio is expected to push the limits of vehicle development and build vehicles to traverse terrain with unprecedented mobility using a combination of robotics and drivable locomotion technology
Hyundai Motor Group announced the creation of New Horizons Studio, a new entity focused on the development of Ultimate Mobility Vehicles (UMVs for short).
Throughout history, humanity has shared an innate desire and need to explore new frontiers. New Horizons Studio plans to build vehicles to hike with unprecedented mobility. The products are aimed at customers who need to travel in unconventional terrain and off-road, including places where vehicles have never been before.
These vehicles will face more demanding applications and environments that can be adapted to changing conditions. The unit will push the boundaries of vehicle development and rethink how vehicles could traverse the world.
New Horizons Studio is led by Vice President Dr. John Suh, who has held various management positions at Hyundai Motor Group since 2011. He was the founding director of Hyundai Ventures and subsequently headed Hyundai CRADLE (Center for Robotic Design in Life Experiences). as founding director in Silicon Valley.
He has more than 35 years of automotive and emerging technology experience at Stanford University, the Palo Alto Research Center (PARC; formerly Xerox PARC), and General Motors Company.
"We want to develop the world's first transformer class vehicle, which is also known as the Ultimate Mobility Vehicle," explains Dr. Suh.
The new unit supports the Hyundai Motor Group's vision of shaping the future of mobility and the forward-looking, innovative leadership of Silicon Valley and other innovation centers on board.
Dr. Ernestine Fu, who joins the group as Director of Product Management, also makes the jump to the New Horizons Studio. She spent nine years as a venture capital partner at Alsop Louie Partners, leading research on human operator and autonomous vehicle interactions at Stanford University's Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab and scaling emerging technology companies.
Introduced at CES 2019, Hyundai Elevate is the first vehicle concept currently being developed by New Horizons Studio. The vehicle is not only dependent on wheels and is intended to cope with challenging driving situations. For example, a car with robotic legs could save lives as a first responder in natural disasters. or people who do not have access to an ADA ramp could call a car to go to their front door, orient themselves, and allow wheelchairs to roll in.
Using a combination of robotics and drivable locomotion technology, Elevate and other vehicles from New Horizons Studio aim to redefine vehicle mobility.
