A new car that features a built-in mini-bar is likely to make the roads significantly safer; the concept design features a wrap-around seven-seat sofa, table, television and, crucially, the ability to drive itself.
Fresh from its work on the Google phone, the American industrial design firm Mike and Maaike has unveiled its vision of personal transport in 2040.
According to the designers, driverless cars are not only technologically possible but inevitable.
GPS, sophisticated sensors and navigation databases will allow driverless vehicles to operate on the same roads we have today.
The shift from driving to riding
The shift from a driving infrastructure to a riding infrastructure has deep implications for society, yet it is currently being driven almost exclusively by engineers and the military. Positive design visions are desperately needed if this technology is to be of beneficial to society.
Codenamed ‘atnmbl’, the design provides more interior space in a vehicle that is shorter than most cars on the road today. Batteries underneath the seating and floor are boosted by solar panels on the roof and drive hub-mounted motors.
A spokesperson for the Environmental Transport Association (ETA), an organisation that provides breakdown and warranty service for electric vehicles, said: “The very few electric cars on the market today are no more than adapted petrol or diesel-engined models – once they are designed from the ground up our notion of what a car is and how it is used will be turned on its head.”
A warranty for electric cars
The ETA is an organisation providing motorists and cyclists with carbon-neutral breakdown cover and bicycle insurance products – including a warranty for electric vehicles.
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