Hyundai Motor unveils wearable robot technologies

The nation’s largest automotive company Hyundai Motor Group offered a peep into its wearable robot technologies. Photos, posted on the group‘s blog Friday, show wearable suits like those seen from “Iron Man” movies, although Hyundai’s don‘t cover the whole body.

The wearer’s physical strength increases by simply donning them, according to the company.

“The wearable robots, being developed with the aim of mass production, can be used for various purposes,” Hyundai Motor Group’s spokesperson told The Korea Herald by phone. 

The advanced suits will be useful in the workplace where workers deliver heavy objects, the company said. The robotic suits allow employees to have less physical pain on their waist and knee when delivering objects weighing hundreds of kilograms.

It can also be used in the defense industry. When soldiers wear the robot, they can walk up stairs and pass through obstacles even when carrying heavy gear weighing around 50 kilograms, Hyundai Motor said.

The company also plans to develop more advanced wearable robots, which include a hydrodynamic wearable robot raising muscular strength up to 20 times and an electrical wearable robot raising physical power up to eight times.

The advanced technologies are currently being developed by Hyundai Motor Group’s key affiliates including Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and railway system maker Hyundai Rotem.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)