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image sensors to public transport apps and facial and speech
recognition.
The CRADLE team asked themselves: “How might we go
further to help people truly reach freedom through mobility?”
To answer this question, they looked at scenarios where
conventional vehicles would simply not be able to offer people
the required mobility. This could be an extreme situation,
such as a natural disaster where first responders are unable
to reach disaster victims because traditional roads have been
compromised, or more everyday challenges, like an elderly or
infirm person who finds it difficult to walk up the steps to their
home. Having identified these human needs, CRADLE then tried
tousetechnologytoovercomethem.
TheresultwasElevate—the“walkingcar”.Createdin
conjunction with industrial design firm Sundberg-Ferar, Elevate
has complex multi-joint legs, inspired by those of a grasshopper.
This gives it the ability to climb steps, lift itself above flowing
water, or even jump over gaps in a disaster-hit area.
Elevate is a physical expression of “freedom of mobility”
and it sits alongside H-MEX as proof of how a human-first
approach to problem solving can yield solutions that would
never exist if the focus were on technology alone. Chi says that
focusing on the mobility of the human body allows Hyundai
to consider a variety of life experiences and situations where
mobility—or the lack of it—can have an impact. “For example, if
an elderly woman has difficulty reaching the nearest bus stop, it
may discourage her from visiting the doctor regularly until she
becomes seriously ill,” he says.
THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY IS FREEDOM IN MOBILITY
It may seem counterintuitive that Hyundai, traditionally a car-
making company, is experimenting with and developing these
new solutions. However, Chi argues that it is better for Hyundai
to start thinking in new ways about “freedom in mobility”,
because the market will not wait for it to do so. “In the future,”
he says, “people will prefer more diverse and practical mobility
solutions than just buying a car, so we must actively develop
transportation solutions for the future, not the past.”
Freedom can be experienced individually or collectively, but
it is always embedded in our shared cultural experience. Similarly,
people will always need to travel, but how they do so is always
evolving. A range of factors—climatic, environmental, social and
financial—are affecting how humanity views mobility and Hyundai
understands that it needs to anticipate and meet these demands.
“The need for mobility is here to stay. What will change is vehicle
ownership—from individuals to service providers,” says Chi.
At the heart of all these technologies, devices and solutions
is a very simple premise: How can Hyundai give people both
“freedom of mobility” and “freedom in mobility”? The company
has discovered that developing solutions—technological or
otherwise—to human challenges must always involve taking a
human-centric approach.
“Freedom can be experienced
individually or collectively, but it is
always embedded in our shared
cultural experience.”
Mobility is more than the car
When thinking about mobility, people often take a car-centric
approach. However, Hyundai believes this is not true to the concept
of “freedom in mobility”, and ignores the millions of people, especially
in developing countries, who do not own a car. According to a 2015
report by the Pew Research Centre, the proportion of car owners was
very low in South and Southeast Asian countries. For example, in both
Bangladesh and Vietnam, only 2% reported having a car.
Another challenge is the lack of access to public transport. In
the USA, for example, a combination of increasing urban-suburban
sprawl and the relative absence of convenient and affordable public
transportation makes getting around difficult and time consuming
for low-income families. This can have a real socio-economic
impact. A 2015 Harvard study identified commute times as thesingle biggest indicator of whether an American household can pull
itself out of poverty.
To address “freedom in mobility” and allow people the freedom
of choosing how to be mobile, Hyundai is exploring other solutions,
such as car-sharing and ride-hailing. The teams at CRADLE have
been working on how to develop and integrate these “mobility
solution” technologies together—with buy-in from local authorities
and city administrations. For example, Hyundai has taken direct
action in India, a market where only 6% of the population are car
owners. Recognising both the need and opportunity, Hyundai
invested US$300 million in Ola, an Indian peer-to-peer ridesharing
and ride-hailing service that already has more than 150 million users.6% car ownership rate in India
US$300 million:
Hyundai’s investment in Ola, an
Indian ridesharing serviceIONIQ is Hyundai’s electric
scooter that can be both stored in
and charged by your vehicle.H-MEX, a wearable robotic
exoskeleton, helps support its user’s
weight and gives freedom of mobility
to physically impaired people.