- Hyundai is introducing a technology called e-Corner that allows all four wheels of a car to rotate up to 90 degrees.
- With e-Corner, a car can park horizontally in a narrow space, turn around in place, or drive diagonally.
- The technology is based on electric motors built into the wheels, which provides more freedom of movement.
Hyundai has unveiled new technology that could revolutionize the way people drive and park. This is the e-Corner system, which allows all four wheels of a car to rotate up to 90 degrees, either together or independently. The result is a series of impressive capabilities that cannot be achieved with an ordinary vehicle.
The Korean brand showed the e-Corner system in a recent video (reproduced at the end of the article), on board a prototype based on an electric Ioniq 5. One of the direct applications of the e-Corner system is parking. The video shows the car coming to a stop directly next to an open space, turning its four wheels perpendicular to the curb, and sliding effortlessly into a tight spot. No need to back up or turn the steering wheel all over the place. Hyundai calls it “crab driving”.
The cars of the future will no doubt be able to drive horizontally (and in all directions)
Another feature is the “zero turn”, which is basically a U-turn without doing any maneuvers. Again, the car spins its wheels outward, but this time the front and rear wheels spin in opposite directions, causing the car to spin in place. This can be useful in a parking lot, or for turning around on a narrow road.
Later in the video, the car does a “pivot turn,” where the right front wheel stays in place while the rear of the vehicle moves outward. The e-Corner system also allows for diagonal driving, turning all four wheels at 45 degrees.
The e-Corner technology is made possible by the use of electric motors integrated into the wheels, so-called hub motors. For the moment the thing is unpublished in series models; But Huyndai could be overtaken on the issue. Lordstown Motors, a start-up specializing in electric pickups, could be the first company to sell a vehicle in the United States with this type of option.
But we fully understand the interest of a technology like e-Corner in pickups. But as Hyundai Mobis demonstrates, this kind of system also allows extraordinary maneuvers that we could not usually accomplish in a classic car.
Hyundai did not say if the e-Corner system will be available on a production model or when it will be marketed. It is currently a prototype that aims to test the reliability and safety of the technology. We invite you to discover it in the video of Hyundai Mobis:
