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Journey of Car Interiors in 2040 <Part 2> December 10,2022
Its concept car envisions the year 2040. The futuristic design of this concept car depicts the interior space of the future, and is a three-seater e-mobility filled with creativity.
In the first part, we came up with the idea of a “moving floor” based on the key concept of “a new dimension of comfort. How did they materialize this novel idea, in which the flat floor transforms into a passenger seat? We will unravel the hidden history of its development. Now, welcome to the unknown world of interior design.
Mock-up made of cardboard
Focusing on the moving floor, concept car development progressed to more precise packaging. A simple mockup based on the initial design was completed, taking into account the dimensions of the current mass-produced vehicle and incorporating details such as the dimensions of the doors and hinges for getting in and out of the car. Surprisingly, the mockup was made of cardboard, leading to rumors within the company of a “rich cardboard house. The reason for this is said to be because it looked like a shack, but the interior was already very comfortable, and not only the development team members but also new employees and even executives boarded the vehicle and gave it a lot of feedback.
Thanks to this simple mock-up, the validity of the 1/1 was confirmed, which was significant, and the decision was made to make a three-seater based on the assumption of a future minivan with a declining birthrate. With comfort as the top priority, we settled on a unique body silhouette that slopes gently from front to rear. This study ultimately led to many discoveries, including an overall length that was 1,000 mm shorter than originally planned.
1/4 size clay model created by the Design Department
Styrofoam mock-up and development team members
After the completion of the simple mock-up, full-scale mock-up production began. From this process, collaboration with an outside manufacturer specializing in concept car mock-up production is essential. The process began with a detailed design in accordance with the specifications required for the car of the future. First, the in-house design department creates a 1/4-size clay model, and then a CAD drawing is created by an outside team. At this point, a 1/1 size mockup made of styrene foam was also completed to reproduce the items to be installed and the body structure. Although the overall length of the car is the size of a compact car, the interior is wider than it looks, a gap that foreshadows a new dimension!
Realization of a challenging “moving floor
There was one mounted item that was not straightforward. The main item was a “moving floor.
To begin with, we had to create a car of the future, 20 years in the future, using today’s technology. Naturally, the technology to install this item was not commercially available or even existed, so we had to develop it from scratch. In other words, the “moving floor” was also developed from scratch.
First, in order to transform the seat from a flat state to a seat state, approximately 130% elasticity was required, and improvements were repeatedly made in the weaving of the outer skin. For the seat cushion material, a special urethane material developed by a venture company of the University of Tokyo was adopted to achieve unprecedented comfort as if floating in midair. It was a sure sign that we were getting closer to the concept of a new dimension of comfort.
The end of a journey is the beginning of a new journey
Four years after the start of the project, the future car was finally completed. In the final step of synchronizing the projection mapping image with the concept car, there was a slight discrepancy in the image projected from one of the three projectors, forcing a final adjustment down to the tenth of a second. However, when everything fell into place perfectly, the team members said, “I felt a sense of accomplishment that I had never experienced before.
The future car is the culmination of a small group of highly motivated members who gathered as an elite group and respected each member’s ideas to the maximum extent possible. It can be said that the future that Hayashi Telempu is aiming for is contained in this one car.
Here again, if you look closely at the future car, you will notice that there are no seatbelts in sight. Of course, this can be attributed to the fact that it is a concept car, but it can also be read to mean that 20 years in the future, a world without accidents awaits us, assuming automated driving. Experiencing such a futuristic car exhibit in person makes us look forward to the year 2040!