The Afeela prototype from Sony Honda Mobility (SHM) presented at CES in Las Vegas, January 12, 2024 (AFP/Elodie MAZEIN)
No handle, no exterior mirror, no button on the dashboard, no roughness on the body, the manufacturers are unveiling at the Las Vegas electronics show a car for tomorrow with an extremely refined design where everything will be done in the tact and automation.
The car of the future will be a “smartphone on wheels”, summarizes Jessica Boothe, director of marketing research at CTA, the organizer of CES.
It is therefore no surprise that the concept cars, prototypes and other new ranges unveiled this week by automobile manufacturers and suppliers are content with screens as dashboards.
For some, even the side mirrors are digital, with a small camera pointed outwards. The driver then watches the film of what is behind him on a tablet located on each side of his dashboard.
The French equipment manufacturer Forvia has developed a door in which a strip of around twenty centimeters becomes a screen, giving the impression of being translucent, when a pedestrian or a cyclist, for example, is at a certain distance on the side of the vehicle.
This is to avoid an unfortunate incident when the driver swerves or turns at an intersection. The car can also prevent the door from opening if it detects a danger.
An electric Mercedes presented at CES in Las Vegas, January 10, 2024 (AFP/Brendan Smialowski)
“It will be available in two years. All it takes is a manufacturer to be interested, we are ready,” assures AFP Helen Cai, marketing director of innovation for interiors.
Next to it is a dashboard which triggers amazed exclamations from experts and manufacturer representatives who have come to discover the equipment manufacturer’s latest creations.
Driving parameters — speed, mileage, etc. — are projected by rear lighting and appear suspended in the air. “It’s a floating image,” explains Ms. Cai, delighted with the effect.
Photos and videos are prohibited on the stand, you must show your credentials to enter because fears of industrial espionage are high.
– Floating image –
The builders have no problem with images, on the contrary, and proudly display their latest creations.
If in the past, they probably talked about engine power, vehicle weight and other mechanical details, now they talk about IVI – for “in-vehicle infotainment” – whose content is accessible by a simple touch of the driver.
The Space-Hub concept car from Japanese manufacturer Honda presented at CES in Las Vegas, January 9, 2024 (AFP/Frederic J. Brown)
“Be ready for an experience that is not just a vehicle but an outpost of innovation and entertainment,” warns Sony Honda Mobility (SHM), which intends to “redefine the relationship between people and mobility” with the prototype of his Afeela car.
The dashboard, once again, is only high quality screens, the steering wheel is replaced by a control similar to the stick of an airplane and the location between the two front seats – where the lever used to be gears– now accommodates… a video game controller.
The future driver of the E350 automatic from the German manufacturer Mercedes will also face a huge screen.
Gone are the buttons to turn or press to turn on the car radio – which itself no longer exists -, the variation sliders for fan speed or temperature, etc. No more searching in every corner of a saturated cockpit to find the warnings or the defogging button.
And these smart cars, for the most part, don’t even have handles anymore. Not even retracted like on Teslas for example. They detect the driver and passengers, and open the doors by themselves.
The interior of a Galaxy E8 from Chinese manufacturer Geely, January 11, 2024 at CES in Las Vegas (AFP/Frederic J. BROWN)
Honda’s Space-Hub concept car looks like it came out of a science fiction film with its interior layout which is more like a living room where you can chat and relax than a vehicle.
The 100% autonomous vehicle does not yet exist, but today’s cars already give the impression that they drive themselves and that they will be more of a place of leisure and conviviality than a means of transport.
© 2024 AFP
Did you like this article ? Share it with your friends using the buttons below.
