An electric powertrain allows more possibilities for improved maneuverability at low speeds, as Hyundai recently demonstrated.
The automaker’s Hyundai Mobis mobile technology division has developed a hardware kit called “electronic angle” allows the individual wheels of the vehicle to rotate up to 90 degrees. The system was first introduced in 2021 and the general concept has been around since 2018, but Hyundai Mobis has now applied it to the Hyundai Ioniq 5 to show its potential.
Electronic corner module Hyundai Mobis
With e-corner, Ioniq 5 can corner same as GMC Hummer EVrotate in place like the “turn the tank over” movement demonstrated by Rivian and Mercedes-Benz EQG prototype, diagonal or roundabout driving, where one set of wheels is stationary and acts as a pivot point for the rest of the car.
What makes it possible is that the modules incorporate the necessary hardware to rotate the wheels at different angles. However, Hyundai Mobis seems to have abandoned the idea of an in-wheel motor, perhaps keeping the engine alongside the module but not part of the actual wheel’s springless weight. That extra springless weight can make it difficult to adjust ride quality and handling.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBW_smfOgVA
Hyundai Mobis says it aims to develop a skateboard platform with four electronic corner modules by 2023 and integrate it with autonomous driving technology by 2025, to create a vehicle built with purpose for mobility services.
The concept of a highly maneuverable skateboard platform is similar to the approach taken by Israeli startup REE, which saw three versions of the own skateboard platformand has reached an agreement to supply at least one version to Indian automaker Mahindra for commercial vehicles.
