2001 Hyundai Elantra on 2040-cars

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Hyundai patenting speed bump detection

Often patents are more about solving a small, annoying problem than really taking on the big issues. Take Hyundai's recent filing for a system to detect speed bumps, for example. Other than teens with a fresh license and ground-scraping supercar drivers, no one really sees spotting these traffic-slowing devices as the bane of their existence. However, the Korean automaker is out to make driving just a little more convenient for everyone with this tech. The Hyundai patent combines several pieces of currently available technology in a new way. GPS, a camera, and multiple sensors identify an oncoming speed bump, and they then measure its height, width, and curvature. With that info, the software calculates the appropriate speed to drive over the hump. If drivers are going too fast, then a warning message tells them to slow down. The patent is a straightforward solution to a problem that doesn't seem to really exist for many drivers. However, while Hyundai makes no mention of this in the documents, this tech could be extremely useful for applications in autonomous vehicles. All the system would need is the additional ability to slow itself automatically, and the driverless car could potentially handle a speed bump just as well as a human.

Hyundai Palisade and Genesis GV80 production idled

In February of this year, the coronavirus pandemic forced Hyundai Motor Company to idle production at most of its factories in South Korea. The Chinese suppliers that provided wiring harnesses for models like the Hyundai Palisade and Genesis GV80 hadn't recovered from their COVID-19 shutdowns, causing a shortage of components. Since then, Hyundai, along with automakers around the globe, has faced repeated hurdles to restoring desired production numbers. Just-Auto reports another hiccup, with Hyundai compelled to shut down lines that build the Palisade and GV80 at its Ulsan, South Korea complex again last week over a lack of parts. Just-Auto didn't specify the parts in question. On top of that, Hyundai had already idled three lines at two plants after an employee at a supplier died, the cause of death thought to be COVID-19. Kia needed to do the same for two entire facilities in South Korea after two plant workers were diagnosed with the illness. In the U.S., Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Alabama was idled from March 18 to May 4, resuming production at lower output on May 4 to manage inventory after the coronavirus and lockdown measures gutted new car sales.   Hyundai, like giant Ford and tiny McLaren, will be ruing the lost momentum of its recovery. The group turned in its best quarterly profit since 2017 at the end of last year, thanks to the larger margins that crossovers and SUVs deliver. Hyundai brand U.S. sales last year of 688,771 units was tantalizing close to an annual sum the brand hasn't hit since 2012. In January, the automaker predicted it would improve on last year's 3.5% group operating profit margin by hitting 5% this year. The nearly 10,000 reservations taken for the GV80 fueled the optimism, when Genesis sold just over 21,000 vehicles in total last year in the U.S. However, through the first quarter, group sales were down 11% globally and in the U.S. Worse, Just-Auto says the group's global sales have nosedived 26% through the first five months. The production halts on the models that deliver the best return will prolong the pain and make it sharper. Related Video:

We check out Hyundai's HRL exoskeleton, a robotic mobility suit for paraplegics

Hyundai makes some of the largest vehicles in the world – to wit, 185,000-ton ships with 56-foot high engines making power at 84 rpm – but its R&D division has found enough human-factor synergy with autonomous vehicle development that they're now working on robotic exoskeletons. We were recently introduced to two of these devices: the HRL designed to increase mobility and therefore quality of life for paraplegics; and the WEX, designed to assist in repetitive-motion lifting. Both of these machines are powered by replaceable lithium-ion battery packs with a 4-hour run time and 40-minute recharges. The HRL robotic legs are designed for people 64 to 71 inches tall and less than 250 pounds. The aluminum segments are adjustable in centimeter increments over a 10-cm range, and the 22.4-inch width means it would fit in many long-haul aircraft forward seats. With the 4.4-lb battery pack, the HRL weighs about 41 pounds. There are six 50:1 reduction-gear actuators, two pelvic actuators rated at 224 pound-feet of peak torque with 60-degree range of motion, and two hip and knee with 112 lb-ft peak, 180 degrees and twice the rotational speed of the pelvic motors. Twenty sensors control it all with default speed of just under a mile per hour and a top speed of 1.5 mph, and step length can be adjusted by smartphone via Bluetooth. One of the accompanying crutches has four thumb buttons much like a video-game controller, though they're experimenting with simpler inputs including a joystick. The crutch communicates with the leg unit over a few feet of distance via Zigbee wireless protocol, with security layers added for both obvious reasons and to ensure two users in the same vicinity won't transmit to the other's unit. An HRL can help you sit, stand, walk or climb and descend stairs; it will also stand on its own, simplifying the process of putting it on. Your correspondent is outside the design height limits so rather than do any impromptu CG research we deferred to colleague Chris Davies of Slashgear for impressions wearing it: "It grips tightly, the support would be comforting, and it delivers good posture. It does take some getting used to – when it first lifts up a leg to move it forward you do feel like you're going to fall over – but once you establish a gait and stop over-thinking it becomes much easier." Indeed, he never fell over and most who tried established a rhythm within a few minutes, if not a 1.5-mph sprint.