The industrial design firm Mike and Maaike, which worked on such products as the Xbox and the HTC G1 phone, has turned its sights towards the car, reenvisioning it as a living room on wheels. In an article for Core77 design magazine titled “The End of Driving: Mike and Maaike introduce the Autonomobile,” the designers suggest people don’t really want to drive, and could better spend their time on the road sleeping, working, or getting drunk. And they emphasize that last point. CNET News
The ATNMBL - short for Autonomobile, apparently, though it seems more like a TXTer’s mistake to us – does away with anything as mundane as a steering wheel. In fact, the car doesn’t feature physical controls of any sort. You just get in, sit down and wait for it to ask you where you want to go.
Controlled entirely by voice commands, the ATNMBL would find its way around town using a combination of GPS and Lidar - a combination of light detection and ranging, radar and accelerometers. Reg Hardware
Passengers enter ATNMBL from the curb side through an electric glass sliding door into a standing-height entryway. Inside, the seating arrangement is a direct reference to the familiar living-room setting of a couch, side chair and low table. Riders are oriented towards each other and to the view outside through the large floor-to-ceiling windows on both sides. Centrally oriented is a large flat display that features live trip information, maps, and entertainment. The display can slide up to reveal a bar behind. A new and comprehensive sense of control is introduced through voice recognition and a touch screen remote control (or one’s personal phone), offering riders a wide range of trip planning, ride sharing and performance settings that can be very detailed for those who want elaborate control or extremely simple for those who would rather just relax and enjoy the ride. TheGreenCarWebsite.co.uk
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