Hyundai Motor Group has announced the formation of the New Horizons Studio, a new unit focused on the development of Ultimate Mobility Vehicles.
New Horizons Studio will develop products for customers who have a need for travel in unconventional and off-road terrain, including places where vehicles have never roamed before. These vehicles will be subject to more challenging applications and environments, adaptable to changing conditions. Pushing the boundaries of vehicle development, the unit will reimagine how vehicles might traverse the world.
The New Horizons Studio will be led by Vice President Dr. John Suh, who has held several leadership roles at Hyundai Motor Group since 2011.
He served as Founding Director of Hyundai Ventures, and then led Hyundai CRADLE (Centre for Robotic-Augmented Design in Living Experiences) as its Founding Director based in Silicon Valley.
Also making the jump to New Horizons Studio is Dr. Ernestine Fu, who joins the group as Director of Product Management.
She has led research on human operator and autonomous vehicle interactions at Stanford University's Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab, as well as scaled emerging technology companies for over nine years as a venture capital partner at Alsop Louie Partners.
The concept could save lives as the first responder in natural disasters, or assist people who do not have access to a wheelchair ramp by simply walking up to their front door, levelling itself, and allow wheelchairs to roll right in.
Using a combination of robotics and wheeled locomotion technology, Elevate and other vehicles by New Horizons Studio are expected to redefine vehicular mobility.
