In order to promote its vehicle telematics services, Verizon has built a car that is capable of rising nine feet into the air in dense traffic and driving over other cars stuck in traffic. Verizon enlisted the help of Thinkmodo to build this Jeep Grand Cherokee model known as the Hum Rider. A video has been included below to demonstrate how this traffic-leaping vehicle can straddle other cars and just beat traffic by simply driving over them.
The Hum Rider was the perfect thing Verizon had in mind to promote its cloud-based automotive tech services. The demonstration of the Hum Rider to beat traffic by rising nine feet in the air and driving over other vehicles aptly captures Verizon's promoted services. These services include vehicle diagnostics, roadside assistance, speeding alert and as well as vehicle tracking - but customers have to part with a monthly fee for these cloud-based auto services, Digital Trends reported.
How Thinkmodo Got the Hum Rider Job Done
As soon as Verizon contracted Thinkmodo to design and built a vehicle capable of demonstrating its new marketing offerings, the latter hired Scott Beverly of A27fx for the job. A27fx was the visual effects company that produced special effects for such movies such as Interstellar, The Dark Knight, and Inception among other spaceships movies. Beverly thought an SUV would be great for the job and he chose the refurbished Jeep Grand Cherokee as his best candidate, Michael Krivicka, co-founder of Thinkmodo said.
The Design and Performance of the Hum Rider in Action
A27fx and the design team at Thinkmodo knew the Hum Rider must be very sturdy and strong to lift itself in the air and sustain its own weight while driving. So they installed a Honda generator powered by gasoline under the SUV, and this passed gas up the 300 feet of hydraulic wire needed to lift up the vehicle nine feet into the air. Meanwhile, the vehicle weighs a grand 8,500 pounds.
The driver can see underneath cars as he straddles and drives over them with the help of four underbody cameras, Fox News reported. He only needs to press a button on the dashboard to get the Hum Rider growing nine feet into the air and driving over other vehicles stuck in traffic. It must, however, be pointed out that the Jeep Grand Cherokee Hum Rider is not going to be available in the market soon, but who knows what could happen in the nearest future with concept cars dominating the auto industry every day?
