Why Your Next Hyundai Might Be A Robot - Seriously No

Hyundai is hoping the purchase of robotics company Boston Dynamics will give it know-how for self-driving cars and flying vehicles.

“We create reliable robots. We will not arm our robots."

Sounds like the script for the opening scene of a futuristic movie where a robotics company executive makes an offer to a client just before all the robots go crazy. But it's real, these promises appear on the website of Boston Dynamics, the robotics firm Hyundai just bought. What does a car company want from robots? We discovered.   

It was at the end of last year when Cars Guide contacted Hyundai's headquarters in South Korea, wanting to know why it was buying Boston Dynamics, a company at the forefront of robotics.  

Hyundai told us at the time that it could not comment on the matter until the deal was finalized. Skip ahead eight months and the $1.5 billion deal is complete and Hyundai now owns an 80 percent stake in the company that gave us Spot's yellow robot dog...and we have the answers to our questions.

We now know that Hyundai sees robotics as the key to its future, and cars are just part of it.

"Hyundai Motor Group is expanding its capabilities in robotics as one of the engines of future growth, and is committed to offering new types of robotic services such as industrial robots, medical robots, and humanoid personal robots," Hyundai headquarters said. Cars Guide. 

"The group develops wearable robots and has future plans to develop service robots for personal and commercial applications, as well as micromobility technologies."

We get the impression that Hyundai's robots aren't just going for tricks, like Honda's funny walking Asimov, but more recently, Toyota's basketball bot. 

But what about cars? Well, like Ford, Volkswagen, and Toyota, Hyundai has started calling itself a "mobility supplier" and this seems to indicate a broader approach to vehicles than just making cars for personal use.

“Hyundai Motor Group has a strategic goal of transforming itself from a conventional vehicle manufacturer into a smart mobility solutions provider,” Hyundai headquarters told us. 

“To accelerate this transformation, the Group has invested heavily in the development of future technologies, including robots, autonomous driving, artificial intelligence (AI), urban air mobility (UAM) and smart factories. The group considers robotics to be one of the most important pillars for becoming a provider of smart mobility solutions.”

At last year's CES, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Eisun Chang laid out his vision for a so-called urban air mobility system that connects personal air vehicles with ground-based autonomous dedicated vehicles.

Mr. Chang, by the way, owns a 20 percent stake in Boston Dynamics.

When we were asked more questions about what kind of advances in the field of cars we can expect from the deal with Boston Dynamics, it turned out that Hyundai is not very confident, but hopes that they can get better autonomous driving technologies and, possibly, knowledge. as for personal air vehicles - flying cars. 

"Hyundai Motor Group is initially considering various opportunities for joint technology development between the two parties for the Group's future business lines such as autonomous driving technologies and urban air mobility, as well as other areas where Boston Dynamics' technological prowess can contribute," was answer. .

Then let's wait and see.

What is certain is that Boston Dynamics' Spot robotic dog was a breakthrough product for a company that was once owned by Google, then sold to Japan's SoftBank and now Hyundai. 

The Spot costs $75,000 and is popular on security and construction sites. The French army also recently tested the Spot in a military exercise. It's only a matter of time before one of those dogs gets a weapon, right? Not if Hyundai has anything to do with it.

“Strict proactive measures are currently being considered to prevent the use of robots as weapons and human casualties,” Hyundai told us. 

“As the role of robots in public services such as security, protection, healthcare and disaster relief is expected to grow steadily, we will strive to do our part to create a harmonious future where humans and robots coexist.”

We hope that the next Hyundai robot will be called Excel.