German automaker Daimler showed its vision of the driverless car, a prototype vehicle that allows four passengers to face each other as the vehicle finds its way.
“In the future, the car brings access to the single most important luxury goods of the 21st century: private space and quality time,” said Daimler chief Dieter Zetsche, as he unveiled the self-driving Mercedes-Benz luxury sedan F 015 at a keynote at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, AFP reported.
Vehicles, he said, “will be exclusive cocoons on wheels that enable people to do exactly what they want.”
The futuristic designed car with a sweeping curved form factor still has a steering wheel, unlike the Google driverless vehicle, but the driver’s seat and front passenger seat can pivot to allow the vehicle to become a “private retreat,” according to Daimler.
“This is what we believe will be next in the terms of the car’s design, concept and communication,” Zetsche said.
The prototype was to take a driver along the Las Vegas Strip later in the day before being put on display at the huge tech show set which opened on Tuesday.
The show is devoting an increasing amount of space to automotive technology, including vehicles that offer some autonomy and greater connectivity.
The F 015 Luxury in Motion offers a generous space in a lounge-like interior, which allows a continuous exchange of information between vehicle, passengers, and the outside world.
The highlight of the F 015’s interior concept is the variable seating system, with four rotating lounge chairs that allow a face-to-face seat configuration. All four passengers can use their time aboard to work, to relax or to communicate. Additionally, in order to make getting in and out of the car easier, the electrically powered seats also swing outwards by 30 degrees as soon as the doors are opened. If necessary, the driver and front-seat passenger can also turn their eyes and attention towards the front – when manual driving is wanted. To this end the steering wheel extends automatically from the dashboard.
The research vehicle continuously exchanges information with the passengers and the outside world via six display screens integrated into the instrument panel and the rear and side panels. Passengers can interact intuitively with the connected vehicle through gestures, eye-tracking or by touching the high-resolution screens. By means of laser projection and LED displays, the electrically propelled F 015 Luxury in Motion establishes contact with the outside world and is a real social partner in traffic, according to Mercedes-Benz.
