Reporting by XinZhiyuan
Edit: David
At CES 2022, Boston Dynamics let the Spot robot dog enter the meta-universe! Hyundai Motors, the controlling company of the robot star, says the robots of the future are part of the metacosm.
For now, one thing is certain: Hyundai is very bullish on the prospects of robotics.
The auto company's most notable move was the acquisition of Boston Dynamics, a developer and manufacturer of robotics technology.
In December 2020, Hyundai motor acquired an 80 percent stake in Boston Dynamics from SoftBank for $880 million.
Now, the car company holds the world's most exposed robot company, and intends to take advantage of the boom of the meta-universe to re-carry out a new strategic layout in the automotive industry.
Last month, Hyundai unveiled its four-wheel modular mobile platform, Mobile Eccentric Droid, showcasing the initial results of this new layout.
Now, Hyundai has proposed the concept of "Metamobility" at CES 2022, outlining a broader plan for the future.
Robot + metaverse = Metamobility
The idea was proposed under the banner of "expanding human influence" to find a role for mobility and robotics in the virtual reality metaverse.
At present, it is still difficult to distinguish the symbolism of the metaverse and the specific applications clearly, but in the eyes of modern cars, the core idea is to use hardware as a real-world agent for VR interaction.
Chang Song, president of Hyundai Motor Group, said:
The idea behind Metamobility is that space, time, and distance will all become irrelevant. By connecting the robot to the metaverse, we will be able to move freely between the real world and virtual reality.
The Metamobility experience goes a step further than the immersive sense of presence offered by Metaverse, where robots will become an extension of our own bodily senses, allowing us to reinvent and enrich our daily lives through Metamobility.
Hyundai motor said, "Users can access digital agents in their homes when they are not at home, and get a real-world experience in VR through Boston Dynamics' robots."
In addition to embracing the metaverse, Hyundai has also launched a "New Mobility of Things" IoT concept that uses robotics to autonomously move inanimate objects.
Under this concept, Hyundai showcased a Plug & Drive product. This single-wheel unit features intelligent steering, braking, in-wheel electric drive and suspension hardware as well as lidar and camera sensors to detect objects and navigate around.
"PnD modules are adaptable and scalable. In the world of the future, you won't move your things — they'll move around you on their own." Dong Jin Hyun, vice president and head of the Modern Robotics Lab, said.
"PnD can move inanimate objects. This allows us to change the configuration of almost any space and make better use of it as needed."
At CES, Hyundai showcased some of the applications of PnD, including a personal transportation system that can transport individuals to bus stops. The pod, equipped with four 5.5-inch PnD modules, attaches itself to the "shuttle".
If the scene in this demonstration becomes a reality, the future could be used to perfect the "first mile" and "last mile" of public transportation, without the need to add a large number of large single cars on the road.
In this way, perhaps the metaverse will truly enter reality in the near future.
Resources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUcfPxr0X_E
https://techcrunch.com/2022/01/04/hyundai-plans-to-incorporate-robots-into-the-metaverse-to-help-users-reach-out-and-touch-someone/
https://www.cnet.com/tech/computing/at-ces-hyundai-sees-boston-dynamics-robots-as-a-part-of-the-metaverse/