Extending its work in autonomous driving, Volvo has unveiled ‘Concept 26’ – its version of how a self-driving car’s interior would look.
‘Concept 26’ takes its name from the average driving time of commuters – 26 minutes and, as you can see, with autonomous driving we’re looking at a much more relaxed environment.
Volvo says when the driver wished to delegate driving to the car, the steering wheel retracts, the seat reclines and a large display emerges from the dashboard allowing the driver the time spent in the car as they like.
“Our research clearly shows that some people will want to use their commuting time creatively when they have full autonomous drive available, while others will want to just sit back and relax, watch online media or listen to music,” explained Robin Page, Volvo’s Vice President of interior design.
For the driver, Volvo’s ‘ Concept 26 offers three modes – ‘Drive’, ‘Create’ or ‘Relax’.
It’s based on an all-new patented seat design which cradles the driver appropriately according to the selected mode.
Of course unless something is done to improve the congestion on major roads in Sydney and Melbourne, in the future Volvo drivers will be doing a lot of relaxing.
