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Journey of Car Interiors in 2040 <Part 1> December 10,2022
<<Interior of the car of the future>>
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, envisioned for the year 2040. The futuristic design of this concept car is full of creativity, with a flat floor that transforms into a passenger seat, making it a three-passenger e-mobility vehicle. Let us take you on a tour of the unknown world of the interior.
<<Exterior. The front doors of the vehicle spring open and close with a large flip.>>
It All Starts with Concept Creation
This grand project was set in motion several years ago. The concept of a future car was born as an exhibit to propose the future of car interiors at Hayashi Telempu’s development and production base, the headquarters office (Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture). The project started from a completely blank sheet of paper. We didn’t even know where to start, but the first thing we decided on was the “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 the project members heard the phrase “a new dimension of comfort,” they were attracted by the fact that they could not immediately visualize what the car would look like. They thought, “It would be more interesting to create an interesting concept car if we can’t imagine what it will look like when it’s finished.
On the other hand, in contrast to intuition, there were some who objected to it because it is a somewhat abstract expression. However, this “new dimension of comfort” was adopted as the keyword to describe the world of car interiors that no one knows yet. This is the moment when the concept of the car of the future was decided.
How should “the future” be expressed in a car?
After the concept was decided, the next task was to determine how the future should be represented. The project members decided to visit various museums and exhibition facilities that proposed the future. As they experienced exhibits that actually made use of the latest technology, they realized that “giving a sense of the future” would be extremely difficult.
Durability and safety are also important issues. We have learned that even if the content of an exhibit is excellent, the key exhibit equipment may malfunction, making it impossible to experience the exhibit, and that VR, which pursues a sense of realism, is easily intoxicated, making it difficult for even small children to experience the exhibit. 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 on display for a limited time.
A spark from a single sketch
Once the key concept of “comfort in a new dimension” and the essential elements for a future car were identified, we proceeded to the design of the concept car. Among the many sketches of ideas from the design department, one caught my eye. The idea of a “moving floor” came to me when I saw the sketch of a robot gently enveloping a person.
<<The sketch that inspired the “moving floor” idea.>>
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 members continued their discussions to consider further items to be mounted on the floor.
<<Designs that gradually become more and 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 in the car.
<Continue to Part 2>