LAS VEGAS—When it reaches rough terrain or even just a set of stairs, Hyundai's latest concept vehicle can stand up and walk.

The invention, unveiled onstage at CES, comes out of Hyundai's Cradle venture arm, which is also a research incubator for robotic and augmented transportation tech. Elevate extends its expandable robotic legs for omnidirectional motion. John Suh, VP of Hyundai Cradle, said Elevate is capable of climbing a 5-foot vertical wall or over a 5-foot gap while keeping its passengers level.

Hyundai sees its hybrid, multi-use electric invention as a search-and-rescue vehicle that could climb over boulders or debris, or as a taxi that move up a set of stairs and unrolls a wheelchair ramp for disabled passengers. Built on a modular vehicle chassis, Elevate vehicles can swap out robotic attachments for different situations, like a car stuck in a snow ditch climbing its way back up to the road.

Industrial design firm Sundberg Farar has been working with Hyundai Cradle on Elevate for the past three years. As Sunderberg Farar design manager David Byron described it, the Elevate's robotic appendages function in many ways like human legs. Each leg has five degrees of freedom: two in the hip, one in the knee, and two in the ankle all powered by an in-wheel propulsion motor.

When you're back on the road, the "articulating legs" retract back into driving mode. The facts are there, folks: it's basically a Transformer.

Elevate can even walk in different styles: mammalian or reptilian style gaits. Hyundai calls it the Ultimate Mobility Vehicle.

"When a tsunami or earthquake hits, current rescue vehicles can only deliver first responders to the edge of the debris field," said Suh. "They have to go the rest of the way by foot. Elevate can drive to the scene and climb right over flood debris or crumbled concrete."

By blending electric car and robotics technology, the Hyundai Elevate feels like a step toward sci-fi. Byron ended his CES presentation by talking about potentially uses, like sending crewed missions to the moon and Mars, which will require vehicles that can adapt to unknown climates and terrain. When that happens, it would be nice if Optimus could jet over to help us out.

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