Just imagine how a car could be designed if all those compulsory features started to become superfluous!
Autonomous driving will radically transform the look and feel of our vehicles. It will make car rides much more convenient. Once people do not have to steer anymore, they gain time for other activities: working, watching movies or taking a nap. The car will become a living space – and this will be reflected by its interior.
The advent of the Highway Chauffeur will be a first milestone in this development. This automated driving function is expected to hit the market by 2020. While on the highway, drivers will be able to hand over control to the vehicle – and make better use of their time. In a more distant future, cars will operate completely autonomously, even in urban traffic. “As soon as people will be allowed to take their hands off the steering wheel, anything is possible,” says Frank M. Rinderknecht, founder and CEO of the visionary Swiss carmaker Rinspeed.
Thinking about the car of the future is Rinderknecht’s day-to-day business. His innovation lab has released several concept cars that envision what autonomous driving might look like one day. Take the 2014 concept car “XchangE” – a converted Tesla Model S (see main image above). The car’s seats have more than twenty possible arrangements for a relaxed ride – including a position that allows passengers to literally turn their back on traffic. They face the rear, where a 32 inch screen turns the vehicle into a home cinema.
Rinspeed’s new autonomous concept car “Etos”, which just premiered at CES 2016 in Las Vegas, comes with two curved widescreen monitors. Passengers can adjust them individually. “Many activities in an automated car will involve screens to enjoy on-board entertainment,” says Rinderknecht.