Having trouble with parallel parking? No worries, Hyundai has got your back! Hyundai Mobis, the automotive supply and technology arm of the Hyundai Group, is making progress with the development of its e-Corner module.
What is an e-Corner system? Well, think of it as a crab walk. A new steering technology from Hyundai that allows for separate wheel operation enables manoeuvres that may not have been possible in the past. Both the Hummer EV and GMC’s Sierra EV can crab walk, though not up to 90 degrees. Hyundai has improved the existing system and has made it way better.
During the Consumer Electronics Show 2023 (CES), Hyundai Mobis displayed the unique steering layout. The e-Cornering System, as it is installed on the M Vision To, offers the ability to spin and rotate the vehicle in position using new motor, steering, and suspension components that are superior to GMC’s Crab Mode technology.
In a video that was released by Hyundai Mobis, the Ioniq 5 is customized to demonstrate the abilities of the e-Corner system. With such steering angles, the Ioniq 5 test vehicle can drive diagonally, pivot in place, and even perform a true zero-degree turn without using individual steering inputs from each of the four wheels, unlike the Hummer, which can only do a slight forward angle.
The Ioniq 5 is moved sideways into a parallel parking space using crab driving, which rotates all modules 90 degrees in the same direction. The Zero Turn allows for a flawless, spin-in-place turn by having the front and rear wheels turn in opposing directions, with the front wheels moving inward towards one another and the rear wheels moving outward away from one another. The vehicle may spin in place because the modules are rotated 45 degrees, with the front wheels rotating in and the rear wheels turning out.
In order for the car to pivot around a stationary front wheel as if the stationary wheel were the fixed point of a compass, the Pivot Turn rotates the rear modules 90 degrees and turns the rear wheels together with one front wheel. This could be useful to prevent 12-point turns while entering and exiting a spot in crowded parking lots. Then there’s Diagonal Driving, also known as Hummer’s Crab Walk.
Hyundai has not stated if it intends to put this innovative piece of technology into production, nor has the company disclosed any technical information about it. However, if the business case and production plans go according to schedule, Hyundai Mobis hopes to begin accepting orders in 2025.
