Hyundai reveals crazy side‑steering Mobion at CES

Called the ‘e-Corner System’, the Mobion can turn each of its wheels perpendicular to the way the car is facing, so it can move in a fully crab-like direction. In Hyundai’s own words, it allows “lateral and diagonal motion, as well as stationary pivot turns”.

Those who are a bit engineering minded might have twigged this isn’t much like the normal Ioniq 5 underneath. Where the production car features a single or dual motors, this prototype features ‘in-whee’ tech, which means they can be moved independently without needing to engineer de-coupling drive shafts or the like.

“In-Wheel technology involves placing four small motors inside each wheel, as opposed to the single large driving motor commonly used in EVs,” said Vice President Lee Young-kook, the Head of Electrification Lab. 

“This configuration enables each wheel to generate its own power independently.” 

The Mobion also features a range of autonomous driving tech including three LiDar devices – one small one at each headlight and another large one in the centre. Hyundai reckons these are good for lateral movements and even safe diagonal lane changes at motorway speeds.

There’s also a battery of lights that have numerous display functions, including informing and warning surrounding drivers and pedestrians. There’s ground projection tech too that can show where the car is going to move when using its e-Corner system. It can even project crosswalk stripes under pedestrians when they’re crossing the road in front of the Mobion.

So when can we expect to see all this stuff in dealerships and on driveways? We’re uncertain, though Hyundai-Mobis is adamant everything it’s researching is with a view to production feasibility.

“The Mobion represents the embodiment of Hyundai Mobis’ core technologies, all of which are ready for immediate mass production,” said Vice President Lee Seung-Hwan, the Head of Advanced Engineering at Hyundai Mobis.

“Always striving to shift the mobility paradigm with vehicles, Mobis created Mobion to showcase our key products and capabilities.”