Elly Yates-Roberts |
Automotive manufacturer Hyundai Motor Company unveiled its new ‘Metamobility’ concept at CES 2022. At the event, the firm showcased the role of robotics, virtual reality and the metaverse in future mobility solutions.
Focused on the theme of ‘Expanding Human Reach’, Hyundai’s presentations reflected its renewed focus on robotics in transforming mobility, strengthened by its recent acquisition of robotics and engineering firm Boston Dynamics.
Through the new ‘Metaverse’ concept, Hyundai aims to pioneer a smart device-metaverse connection that will “expand the role of mobility to virtual reality (VR), ultimately allowing people to overcome the physical limitations of movement in time and space”. Development in robotics technology will be central to this.
“At Hyundai, we are harnessing the power of robotics to achieve great things,” said Euisun Chung, executive chair of Hyundai Motor Group, during his presentation at CES 2022. “We envision future mobility solutions made possible by advanced robotics — even expanding our mobility solutions to Metamobility. This vision will enable unlimited freedom of movement and progress for humanity.”
At the event, Chung was joined by Dong Jin Hyun, vice president and head of Hyundai Motor Group Robotics Lab; Chang Song, president and head of transportation-as-a-service of Hyundai Motor Group; Marc Raibert, founder and chairman of Boston Dynamics; and Ulrich Homann, corporate vice president of Cloud+AI at Microsoft.
Homann added how Microsoft is helping to realise metaverse experiences: “As virtual and physical environments merge, Microsoft is bringing people, places and things together with the digital world. Across the Microsoft Cloud, from Azure IoT to Azure Digital Twins, Dynamics 365 Connected Spaces and Microsoft Mesh, we’re building a metaverse platform for organisations, enabling a new perspective on the way how people move and interact in physical spaces like factories.”