Wolfsburg: Although cars like this are a long way off, Volkswagen is taking a serious look at the future of automotive travel with its new Gen.Travel concept car.
The fully working prototype that you see here is capable of “Level 5” fully autonomous driving, and because it doesn’t require a traditional cockpit with a steering wheel, Volkswagen has reimagined the future of family travel with a cabin that can serve as a lounge and bedroom.
In essence, its modular interior accommodates up to four occupants but it can be customised to suit each journey.
For instance, if there’s only two of you and you want to sleep during the journey, an overnight mode can be activated, in which two seats can be folded out into flat beds.
Volkswagen has even developed an innovative restraint system to keep occupants safe in their lying position, as well as a lighting system that influences melatonin production to allow occupants to fall asleep and wake up naturally.
You might not have time for a snooze if you’re on a business trip with colleagues, but in this scenario you’ll appreciate the conference set-up, which provides four comfortable seats and a large table in the middle.
For family trips, the front seats can be configured to entertain kids, using augmented reality. Occupants can also look forward to a decent view out, thanks to the transparent glass cabin that provided a view out from waist level.
To ensure that everyone remains comfortable, Volkswagen has fitted an Active Body Control (eABC) active suspension system, which calculates lateral and vertical movements, such as cornering, braking or accelerating, ahead of time, to optimise the car’s trajectory accordingly.
“The Gen.Travel offers us a glimpse of the travel of the future. It shows us what autonomous driving will look like in the future,” said Volkswagen Group design head Klaus Zyciora.
“The Gen.Travel embodies the visionary design of beyond tomorrow for the mobility of tomorrow. Efficient shaping characterises the extremely distinctive design. Thus, in an age of technical perfection and virtually unlimited possibilities, ‘form follows function’ becomes ‘form follows freedom’. The automobile will not only be better, but also more exciting than ever before.”
While the possibilities are exciting, there are many industry authorities who believe that fully autonomous cars will not be a reality any time soon, or ever.
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