Mercedes-Benz teamed up with the "Avatar"
movie franchise to create a concept car. The Vision AVTR is a unique concept
car that looks to the distant future and you can't have it—it's unobtanium.
Introduced Tuesday at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las
Vegas, the Vision AVTR (short for Advanced Vehicle Transformation) explores a
new relationship between human, machine, and nature, and depicts a future where
cars are symbiotic with their surroundings.
The car interfaces with the driver through a biometric connection.
The driver places a hand on the center console and the car recognizes him or
her by heartbeat and breathing. The center console also acts as the control
unit through which the driver operates the vehicles; there is no steering
wheel. It can drive autonomously in Comfort mode or the driver or other
passengers can take control.
Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept
The driver's palm has a menu of functions that can be
selected with gestures. For example, they can view real-time 3D graphics of the
fictional world of Pandora. A curved display acts as the dash. It provides a
connection to the outside world for all passengers and offers multiple
perspectives, including a bird's eye view. The interior has no buttons.
Sustainable materials are used throughout the cabin, such as
Dinamica, a synthetic leather, for the upholstery and rattan wood on the floor.
The car's haptic seats can monitor breathing and adjust the interior based on
the emotional state and stress of the driver and other passengers. Haptic
feedback also alerts occupants to objects outside the car. A "Magic
Pool" infotainment system is integrated into the back of the front seats.
It includes games and augmented reality designed for children.
The design consists of one flowing line that snakes from the
exterior through the interior and back out. The body has 33 scale-like
"bionic flaps" that can be used to communicate to the outside world
via flowing movements. They also act as solar plates to provide the energy
needed for sensors,
computer chips, and other components, and they can adjust
their orientation to aid vehicle maneuvers. Nature is brought inside through
transparent doors that open upward. The center console was inspired by the
"Tree of Souls," the most sacred place for the Na'vi people in
"Avatar," and it extends through the A-pillars to the roof.
Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR concept
The Vision AVTR is an electric vehicle and Mercedes imagines
a battery with graphene-based organic cell chemistry and no rare-earth metals.
Mercedes says that the battery is compostable, recyclable, and completely free
of fossil fuels. Likewise, the whole car would have zero impact on the planet.
Mercedes says the battery would also charge quickly, in just 15 minutes,
through conductive charging. With a capacity of about 110 kwh, Mercedes says it
would give the car a range of more than 435 miles.
The car features four electric motors mounted near the
wheels with a total output of 469 horsepower. Each wheel can be driven
individually, and the front and rear axles can be driven in the same or
opposite directions. That gives the car the ability to "crab walk"
diagonally at an up to 30-degree angle.
Mercedes will certainly not build the Vision AVTR, but its
user experience, design, and battery concepts are signposts for a possible
future in which cars interface with their occupants and have no negative effect
on the planet.
by Kirk Bell
http://www.boscheuropean.com
