Hyundai Motor unveiled at this month’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas its innovative vision for urban mobility to help vitalise human-centred future cities.
 
To realise the vision, the South Korean car maker showcased three mobility options – Urban Air Mobility (UAM), Purpose Built Vehicle (PBV) and Hub, a place for mobility transfer and community activities.
 
Based on these, Hyundai aims to free future cities and people from constraints of time and space and allow them to create more value in their lives.
 
The company will also accelerate the implementation of its brand vision Progress for Humanity and transform itself into a smart mobility provider.
 
UAM combines a personal air vehicle (PAV) with urban air mobility services to make airspace available for transportation, while PBV is a ground-based eco-friendly mobility option that provides customised spaces and services for passengers in transit. Hub is a space that connects UAM and PBV, a concept in which people can come together to interact.
 
Working closely, UAM, PBV and Hub can play key roles in vitalising human-centred future cities and enriching people’s lives.
 
UAM connects the sky and the ground, while PBV links people to people on the road. These two smart mobility options connect at the Hub, which will be installed across future cities to form a mobility ecosystem.
 
With this smart mobility vision built around the UAM-PBV-Hub network, Hyundai has outlined its commitment to provide seamless mobility and a differentiated mobility experience.
 
The vision is also in line with the company’s mid-term innovation plan Strategy 2025 to shift its business structures based on the two pillars of smart mobility devices and smart mobility services.
 
“For smart mobility, we considered what truly matters in cities and in people’s lives,” said Euisun Chung, executive vice chairman of Hyundai Motor Group. “UAM, PBV and Hub will revitalise cities by removing urban boundaries, giving people time to pursue their goals, and creating a diverse community. Our goal is to help build dynamic human-centred future cities and continue our legacy of progress for humanity. CES 2020 is just the start and we will continue to realise this vision.”
 
Hyundai’s future mobility vision stems from the idea that mobility is closely related to city infrastructure. The company established a human-centred city advisory group with global experts from fields such as psychology, architecture, urban design, transportation and political science, and conducted research on how future cities should be designed to foster new human-centred values.
 
The advisory group derived three key values for future cities – vitalise, enable and care. Considering Hyundai’s strength in mobility and connecting people, the advisory group decided to place priority on the vitalisation of cities.
 
“All three values are important, but Hyundai is exceptionally well-positioned to vitalise communities with new forms of mobility,” said Art Markman, a member of Hyundai’s human-centred city advisory group and professor of cognitive psychology at the University of Texas in Austin. 
 
In addition to the advisory group, Hyundai also envisioned different city archetypes and developed future city scenarios to predict the infrastructure and development direction that will be required for future cities. The company focused on human-centred mobility to address traffic congestion challenges in major cities. 
 
“Based on advice from the advisory group, we tried to find mobility solutions that will vitalise communities in a meaningful and imaginative way,” said Youngcho Chi, president and chief innovation officer at Hyundai Motor. “UAM, PBV and Hub will help alleviate pain-points in big cities like San Francisco.”
 
Urban Air Mobility offers liberation from grid-lock and democratisation of flight. Mega-urbanisation taking place around the world has resulted in dramatic reduction of transfer efficiency for urban residents and increased social costs related to logistics transportation.
 
UAM enables runway-free urban air travel with personal air vehicles capable of electric vertical takeoff and landing.
 
“We are looking at the dawn of a completely new era that will open the skies above our cities,” said Jaiwon Shin, executive vice president at Hyundai Motor. “Urban Air Mobility will liberate people from grid-lock and reclaim time for people to invest in activities they care about and enjoy.”
 
For safety, the PAV has multiple rotors to provide multi-layer redundancy and ensure safe operation, and a parachute deployment system will be placed in the vehicle for emergencies. PAVs will be designed with low noise levels, making them more acceptable for urban travel and offering comfort to passengers.
 
UAM will be made affordable and accessible through use of Hyundai’s manufacturing know-how in automobiles, aerodynamic design, use of light-weight from carbon composite materials, productive design technology, and reduced operating costs.
 
Lastly, Hyundai’s UAM will be passenger-centred by designing the interior with IoT features while ensuring comfort and safety of passengers.
 
Hyundai unveiled its first concept PAV, named S-A1 and designed to seat five people, including a pilot. The PAV will be operated initially by a pilot during the early stages of commercialisation and enable autonomous operation once the relevant technologies are developed. The S-A1 concept PAV was developed jointly with Uber.
 
“Hyundai is our first vehicle partner with experience of manufacturing passenger cars on a global scale,” said Eric Allison, head of Uber Elevate. “We believe Hyundai has the potential to build Uber Air vehicles at rates unseen in the current aerospace industry, producing high quality, reliable aircraft at high volumes to drive down passenger costs per trip. Combining Hyundai’s manufacturing muscle with Uber’s technology platform represents a giant leap forward for launching a vibrant air taxi network in coming years.”
 
Hyundai plans to strengthen its partnerships with global companies such as Uber and accelerate its UAM business, including developing PAVs, offering fleet service and maintenance, and developing skyports.
 
The PBV can accommodate a wide spectrum of future lifestyles with personalisation. It allows passengers to enjoy tailored services while traveling to their destinations, offering a new take on the concept of mobility beyond a means of transportation. PBVs can function as a restaurant, coffee shop and hotel, or even a clinic and pharmacy, in addition to being an urban shuttle.
 
The PBV was inspired by San Francisco’s iconic cable car.
 
“The design comes alive and makes us feel connected to the way we get around through a progressive reinterpretation of its DNA and incorporation of the urban scenery,” said SangYup Lee, senior vice president and head of Hyundai Global Design. 
 
The PBV is customisable with complete disassembly of upper- and under-bodies and adjustable size from four to six metres. Its interior can be personalised to individual needs by assembling modular parts, taking the PBV beyond transportation into the realm of living space. 
 
Its artificial intelligence (AI) feature allows the PBV to navigate along the best routes and charge in-transit with the help of the charger PBVs. The PBV can also travel autonomously in platoon, which is expected to bring changes to personal deliveries, as well support the wider logistics industry within future cities.
 
The Hub has a skyport for the PAV on the top and docking stations on the ground for the PBV to approach and depart from multiple directions. The Hub can be transformed into a number of new spaces depending on how PBVs are connected. For instance, it can be turned into a cultural complex by bringing together PBVs functioning as concert halls, movie theatres and museums. It can also be transformed into a medical complex by connecting medical service PBVs in the form of clinics, doctor’s offices and pharmacies.