The car company Hyundai has announced the launch of what it calls its New Horizons Studio to take vehicles to “places where vehicles have never roamed before”.

The new unit is focused on the development of Ultimate Mobility Vehicles, or UMVs for short saying that, “throughout history, humankind has shared an innate desire and need to explore new frontiers. New Horizons Studio envisions building vehicles to wander with unprecedented mobility.”

Hyundai says the products will target customers who have a need for travel in unconventional and off-road terrain. These vehicles will be subject to more challenging applications and environments, adaptable to changing conditions. “Pushing the boundaries of vehicle development, the unit will reimagine how vehicles might traverse the world,” it says in a statement.

“We aim to create the world’s first transformer-class vehicle, also known as the Ultimate Mobility Vehicle,” said project leader Dr John Suh.

One example of a vehicle is the Hyundai Elevate which does not rely solely on wheels and is expected to address challenging driving situations. Hyundai says that, for example, a car with robotic legs could save lives as the first responder in natural disasters; or, people who do not have access to an ADA ramp could hail a car to walk up to their front door, level itself, and allow wheelchairs to roll right in. “Using a combination of robotics and wheeled locomotion technology, Elevate and other vehicles by New Horizons Studio are expected to redefine vehicular mobility,” it says.