When Hyundai Motor Group acquired robotics company Boston Dynamics in June 2021, some may have wondered how the new acquisition would impact Hyundai’s plans to become a future mobility company. At CES 2022, the Korean automaker shared its new vision.

Using the new theme, “Expanding Human Reach,” Hyundai Motor’s CES presentations reflected how the company’s robotics business will drive its shift towards future mobility, going beyond IoT (Internet of Things) and the traditional means of transportation by connecting VR and IOT through the metaverse, which some define as the future version of cyberspace.

The company sees robotics and mobility as complementary; one can accelerate the development of the other. Together, the two will add value to its business and drive progress, starting with a robotics-based Mobility of Things (MoT) ecosystem.

In support of its future vision for robotics and mobility, Hyundai revealed its new concept of “Metamobility,” with the goal of pioneering a smart device-metaverse connection that will expand the role of mobility to virtual reality (VR). According to the company, this will allow people to overcome the physical limitations of movement in time and space. It also shared its vision of using robots as a medium between the real world and virtual spaces, enabling users to make changes in the metaverse to be reflected in reality.

The company envisions the distinctions between future mobilities, such as AI and autonomous driving, becoming blurred through the further development of robotics technology. Diverse mobilities, including automobiles and UAM (urban air mobility), will also serve as smart devices for access to the metaverse platform.

“At Hyundai, we are harnessing the power of robotics to achieve great things,” said Euisun Chung, the Group’s Executive Chair, during his presentation. “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.”

With the metaverse set to become a daily space for people in the future, the company said it expects the possible emergence of a new type of metaverse platform in which the distinction from reality could disappear, thanks to the connection of smart devices and VR. It says this defines this concept of Metamobility.

Hyundai said it expects that mobility vehicle, such as automobiles and UAM, will serve as smart devices to access virtual spaces, while robotics will act as a medium to connect the virtual and real worlds. For example, an automobile that connects to virtual spaces can allow users to enjoy various in-car VR experiences. Depending on the user’s needs, a car can be transformed into an entertainment space, a meeting room for work, or even a 3D video game platform.

The company goes on to claim that future metaverse users will be able to affect changes in the real world through robotics and digital-twin technology, a virtual representation of a physical object, place, or process that will be made possible by further advancements in sensors and actuators. For example, when a user accesses a digital twin of their home in the metaverse while away from their physical home, they will be able to feed and hug a pet in Korea using an avatar robot. This will allow users to enjoy real-world experiences through VR.

“The idea behind Metamobility is that space, time, and distance will all become irrelevant,” said Hyundai Motor Group President and Head of Transportation-as-a-Service (TaaS) Division Chang Song. “By connecting robots to the metaverse, we will be able to move freely between both the real world and virtual reality. Going one step further from the immersive ‘be there’ proxy experience that the metaverse provides, robots will become an extension of our own physical senses, allowing us to reshape and enrich our daily lives with Metamobility.”

“As virtual and physical environments merge, Microsoft is bringing people, places, and things together with the digital world,” said Ulrich Homann, Corporate Vice President and Distinguished Architect Cloud+AI at Hyundai partner Microsoft. “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 organizations, enabling a new perspective on the way how people move and interact in physical spaces like factories.”

Hyundai also revealed its Plug & Drive (PnD) and Drive & Lift (DnL) modular platforms as all-in-one solutions for its unlimited Mobility of Things (MoT) ecosystem, for which traditionally inanimate things, from small objects to community spaces, will gain mobility using the company’s robotics technologies.

Dong Jin Hyun, Vice President and Head of Hyundai Motor Group Robotics Lab, highlighted the new PnD module, a single-wheel robotics platform that combines intelligent steering, braking, in-wheel electric drive, and suspension hardware that can be scaled up or down, for any purpose, size, or application. LiDAR and camera sensors allow a PnD-enabled object to move autonomously.

According to the company, the PnD module can provide mobility to normally inanimate things, from small objects to community spaces. It is targeting many applications for the PnD, including mobility for people with disabilities, automated logistics, reconfigurable interior space, and public transportation with individual compartments for social distancing and last-mile mobility.

“In the world to come, we will not move our things, but things will actually move around us with the PnD module making traditionally inanimate objects mobile,” Hyun said. “We are directing all our ambitious robotics engineering and creative efforts towards realizing an even bigger vision than ever—the unlimited Mobility of Things ecosystem.”

In addition, Hyundai also exhibited the MobED (Mobile Eccentric Droid) small mobility platform that uses the DnL module, an eccentric wheel mechanism, combining the drive, steering, and braking systems in one structure. With DnL mounted on each wheel, MobED can lift the platform up and down, so the body can stay level as MobED traverses uneven terrain or low barriers such as steps or speed bumps.