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Meeting the future in the House of Hyundai

HUH Chocolate Ralph Candy Mechanics
Spot the 3D printed chocolate Ralph

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4 November 2016

I POPPED along to the House of Hyundai – or perhaps I should say #HouseofHyundai – in London’s Soho last night.

It’s a pop-up installation to highlight and explore some of the themes associated with motoring in the future.

At first I wondered if it was all a bit gimmicky, but you start poking under the skin of the exhibits and you start to see how it is challenging your perception of what motoring in the future might be.

House of Hyundai
Taste innovator – 3D printer

I particularly liked the idea that, instead of packing sandwiches in the boot – or perhaps the hamper – for a day out with a picnic, you could instead pack a 3D printer and decide what you wanted when you arrived. By printing it out. I’m still a little mystified as to how the foodstuffs get to the printer, but there you go…

But 3D printing of food is with us already: Candy Mechanics made a chocolate sweet out of me. It was strangely bizarre. Your head is scanned, the details fed into the computer, and then a 3D printer produces a chocolate effigy of yourself! Yum! (In a rather cannibalistic sort of way…)

House of Hyundai
Exploring with Sarah McCartney

There was also a perfumier there – Sarah McCartney of 4160 Tuesday – with a cocktail of various smells.

For the event she had produced a special seaside scent and a forest scent – evocative and subtle they are a million miles from those ghastly in-car odourisers.

From this step it’s not hard to imagine a scent being produced that could calm down and pacify a young family on a car journey; or a smell to keep you relaxed in poor traffic conditions.

House of Hyundai
Borre Akkersdijk with textiles

Also present was a textile innovator – or perhaps textile scientist might be better – called Borre Akkersdijk.

His speciality is combining hi-tech with textiles – a seat covering that cleans the air and reduces pollution as you drive anyone?

As you can tell, it was interestingly challenging, and all part of Hyundai’s Project Ioniq, a lab set up in Korea to interpret, analyse and provide solutions for future transportation needs.

House of Hyundai

Read our reviews of the Hyundai Ioniq

And present outside in the street was Hyundai’s Ioniq, the world’s first car where you can choose your level of electrification: hybrid, plug-in hybrid or full electric.

I drove both the hybrid and the electric recently – and despite all the futurology surrounding the House of Hyundai, they were surprisingly normal to drive. It’s just their method of propulsion is not mainstream.

Well, at least not yet.

Anyway, here’s to the future – with my very own unique 3D chocolate!

House of Hyundai
Cannabalistic temptation – the chocolate Ralph

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