Hyundai Thinks We May Dwell In Hexagonal-Formed Cities In The Future

Earlier this yr, Hyundai Motor Group (HMG) invested $400 million to make robots smarter. It purchased Boston Dynamics in 2020, and since then, the corporate has been providing its imaginative and prescient for what the long run may appear like, starting from robots to complete metropolis ideas.

The automaker introduced right this moment a digital exhibition that places its grand concepts into focus. The exhibit exhibits off the greenfield good metropolis HMG that debuted in the course of the World Cities Summit this summer time. The corporate collaborated with HyunJoon Yoo Architects on the venture, making a hexagonal-shaped metropolis that places people on the heart of its design. It is a stepping stone for Hyundai because it begins to study and perceive how cities function to offer options that profit residents.

Town’s design places inexperienced areas on the heart, with the buildings encircling parks, forests, water reservoirs, and extra. Whereas Hyundai has a heavy hand within the automotive area, its metropolis’s street infrastructure lies out of view underground, the place autonomous autos transport items and providers to regional hubs. Robots will make the ultimate supply in Hyundai’s future, which is all about clear power and sustainability. The digital metropolis will get its energy from hydrogen gas cell mills that distribute electrical energy via a sensible grid. You’ll be able to expertise the exhibit right here.

Designing a metropolis looks as if an formidable feat for Hyundai, however the firm has been enthusiastic about mobility options for some time. In January, the automaker confirmed off its Plug & Drive robotic platforms that may connect to small objects and make them cell utilizing LiDAR and electrical drive, like items in a warehouse. The platform is highly effective sufficient to maneuver folks, with a joystick offering management.

“Cities are complicated organisms, and it’s troublesome to plan for a single good metropolis, however such thought workouts will assist lead us in the suitable course,” mentioned Youngcho Chi, HMG’s president and chief innovation officer.

Hyundai’s grand imaginative and prescient for what future cities will appear like is fanciful. Nevertheless, robots and autonomy may change how we get and transfer issues, although genuinely autonomous autos are nonetheless years or many years away from changing into actuality.