Volvo unveils Concept 26 autonomous vehicle interior design

Self-driving cars aren’t even close to perfection, the laws governing them have yet to be written, and wireless car hacking is a potential threat. But this time in Los Angeles, Volvo has taken the less adventurous and more production-friendly route to interior decorating with the Concept 26. This Volvo autonomous car's interior design is based on the bones of its Scalable Product Architecture. It’s named for the 26 minutes Volvo says American drivers lose, on average, during every commute.

Kuala Lumpur: The Volvo Concept 26 gives a realistic impression of how its vehicle interiors could evolve as autonomous driving technology advances over the coming years. Concept 26 is based around a new patented seat design that can be set to three positions: drive, create, and relax.

The idea is not that different from the lounge-like Mercedes-Benz self-driving concepts, in which the car's interior functions more as a lounge for passengers than cockpit for drivers

‘Drive’ is self-explanatory, positioning the driver comfortably behind the steering wheel for the parts of their journey where human control is required. ‘Create’ retracts the steering wheel in towards the dashboard and reveals a large display on the passenger side, allowing occupants to work and be fully connected to the outside world. ‘Relax’ reclines the seats as far as possible and allows occupants to watch the screen, read, or do whatever takes their fancy.

Volvo Cars interior design vice president Robin Page said, “It’s all about people. Our research clearly shows that some people will want to use their commuting time creatively when they have a full autonomous drive available while others will want to just sit back and relax, watch online media or listen to music. The autonomous drive will make all of this possible. This is what Concept 26 has captured by reimagining the entire car experience.”

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To facilitate all this interaction, the Volvo Concept 26 has an enormous 25-inch color display on the passenger side of the dashboard, a tablet computer in the center console, a folding tray table, and a fully reclining driver's seat with extendable footrest.

“We have gone to great lengths to understand the challenges and opportunities that autonomous cars will bring to people in coming years, and our flexible approach to engineering and design, enabled by our new Scalable Product Architecture, means that we can readily bring this from concept to reality,” said Dr Peter Mertens, a senior vice president for Research and Development at the Volvo Car Group.

“Driving can still be fun and liberating on the right day and on the right road, but a few parts of driving, notably the daily commute in many metro areas, are stressful, frustrating”, explains Anders Tylman-Mikiewicz, the general manager of the Volvo Monitoring and Concept Center, in a statement.

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Though Volvo hasn't said which vehicle these features would be integrated into the company notes that Concept 26 is built on the SPA flexible platform that underpins the Volvo XC90 and upcoming models like the S90 luxury sedan.

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