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Article10 April 7,2020

A Journey into the Unknown Interior

In the more than 100 years of automotive history, a wave of electrification is now sweeping across the world, not only in Japan but also in the rest of the world. In the next 10 or 20 years, will it be possible to drive automatically or even fly? That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but even if the day comes when tires will no longer be necessary, the interior will never disappear as long as people will be riding in cars. In fact, the interior area has the potential to become more important as a living space than the conventional concept of interior space.

Hayashi Telempu has developed a concept car for the coming future, which is named “Future Car” and is envisioned for the year 2040. The concept car, with its futuristic design and flat floor that transforms into a passenger seat, is a three-passenger e-mobility vehicle filled with creativity. We interviewed Kenichi Nakatsuka, who was in charge of its development, about its hidden development history. Let us take you on a tour of the unknown world of the interior.

It All Starts with Concept Creation

This grand project was set in motion several years ago. The concept of a future car was born at the headquarters office (Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture), Hayashi Telempu’s development and production base, as an exhibit to propose the future of car interiors. Kenichi Nakatsuka, manager of the Development Department’s Development Section 2, was selected to play such an important role as the person in charge of development. The project started from a completely blank slate.
Looking back on those days, he says he did not even know where to start. The first thing Nakatsuka decided on was a “concept.

In the beginning, there were only five core members. Each member brought their own ideas, and discussions were held repeatedly on the concept that would form the framework of the future car. However, none of the ideas seemed realistic and lacked challenging elements, making it difficult to come up with a concept. In the midst of this groping in the dark, an executive from the design department suggested the concept of “a new dimension of comfort.

When I first heard the phrase “a new dimension of comfort,” I was attracted by the fact that I could not immediately visualize what the car would look like. I thought it would be easier to create an interesting concept car if I could not imagine what it would look like in its finished form.

On the other hand, in contrast to Nakatsuka’s intuition, some people objected to the expression because it is somewhat abstract. However, Nakatsuka thought it was the perfect keyword to describe the world of car interiors that no one knew yet, and decided to adopt this “new dimension of comfort. This is the moment when the concept of the car of the future was decided!.

From one part of Japan to another. Futuristic exhibits, go on a research trip

After the concept was decided, the next question to be tackled was how the future car should be expressed. Nakatsuka decided to visit various museums and exhibition facilities in Japan that proposed the future. As he experienced exhibits that actually made full use of the latest technology from all over the country, he realized that “giving a sense of the future” was extremely difficult.

Durability and safety are also important issues. Even if the exhibits were excellent, they could not be experienced due to malfunctioning of the key exhibit equipment, and VR, which pursues a sense of realism, is easily intoxicating, making it difficult for even small children to experience it. We have learned that it is not enough to simply create a good-looking concept car, but that it must be sturdy and safe enough to withstand permanent exhibition, unlike a motor show or a show car that is only available for a limited time.

Design sketch of the concept car

A spark from a single sketch

Once the key concept of “comfort in a new dimension” and the essential elements of a future car were identified, we proceeded to the design of the concept car. Among the many sketches submitted by the design department, one sketch caught Nakatsuka’s attention. The sketch depicted a futuristic and seamless interior space, which inspired the idea of a “moving floor.
The “moving floor” is a novel idea in which a flat floor surface transforms into a passenger seat. With this idea as the main idea, the development team continued discussions to consider further items to be installed.

Design that gradually becomes more concrete.

It is not just an on-board item that could be realized with today’s technology, but an on-board technology for the future in 2040. This meant that we had to build a car in 2040 with the technology of that time in 2017!.

First, in order to realize a movable floor, we began by examining the technology that was already available around us. With reference to nursing care beds, members of the Experimental Department, who are well versed in ergonomics, joined the project and repeated thorough research to determine what a comfortable posture would be. The number of members of the Future Car Project gradually increased, and the speed of development gradually accelerated in order to consider further items to be installed.。

<To be continued in Second half>