ONE DAY, WHEN WE NO LONGER NEED
TO ACTUALLY DRIVE OUR CARS....
WHAT MIGHT THAT MEAN TO THE
DESIGN
OF THE INTERIOR?
KPIX-5'S DEVIN FEHELY WENT TO
CHECK OUT PLANS FROM ONE BAY
AREA
COMPANY.
"KPIX 5 REPORTER DEVIN
FEHELY:
If in the future people no
longer have the responsibility
of actually driving cars
themselves, it begs the
question, 'What are you going to
do with all of that extra time?
And how could you reimagine and
redesign the inside of the car
to do it?"
[NATS]
"I push "Go" and the ride
begins." FROM THE OUTSIDE... IT
LOOKS A LIKE A STAR TREK SHUTTLE
CRAFT... [NATS]
"For the cup holder, there's
only a ring of light. And when
you put a cup on it, it drops
down."
BUT IT's THE INSIDE... THAT's
REVVED UP THE IMAGINATIONS OF
ENGINEERS AT YANFENG... A
CHINESE COMPANY THAT HOPES TO
RE- IMAGINE WHAT THE INSIDE OF
CAR LOOKS AND WORKS LIKE... IN
AN AGE OF AUTONOMOUS
AUTOMOBILES.
"YANFENG VP OF RESEARCH
AND DESIGN TIM SHIH (SHE):
The experience inside is what
really makes you say, 'Wow, I
liked this ride or it was
convenient or I could work.' And
we think that's where the
opportunity lies."
[NATS]
THEIR PROTOTYPE IS PACKED WITH
FEATURES... SOME WHIMSICAL...
LIKE AN INTERACTIVE, LED SCREEN
ON THE INSIDE OF THE ROOF... AND
SOME DEEPLY PRACTICAL... LIKE
FRONT SEATS THAT ROTATE 180
DEGREES... AND MINUS THE
STEERING WHEEL, GAS PEDAL AND
BRAKE... THE CABIN IS ALMOST
CAVERNOUS... COMPARED TO A
CONVENTIONAL CAR. "YANFENG VP OF
RESEARCH
AND DESIGN TIM SHIH
: We believe that big paradigm
shift is when you combine
autonomous drive with the
mobility services model. So, you
don't own the car anymore.
You're not buying one car to do
everything you need in your
whole lifetime. You're just
calling the car you need for
that specific ride."
[NATS - KIET's PKG]
THIS IS THE SECOND GENERATION OF
THE DESIGN... AN EARLIER MODEL
DEMO'ed FOR KPIX REPORTER KIET
DO TWO YEARS AGO... STILL
FOLLOWED THE BASIC BLUEPRINT OF
A TRADITIONAL CAR...
BUT EVEN THEN... THE ROAD MAP
WAS CLEAR... THE STEERING WHEEL
FOLDED AWAY... THE SEATS
ROTATED... OR SLID BACKWARDS
LIKE A RECLINER. BUT THE
QUESTION... THEN AS NOW... IS
WHEN WILL THE TECHNOLOGY FINALLY
BE READY... AND WILL THE PUBLIC
BE READY TO EMBRACE IT? "YANFENG
VP OF RESEARCH
AND DESIGN TIM SHIH:
We think there's a huge
opportunity inside to create
something unique. And we think
the real difference maker will
be the experience you have
inside the space. Because
obviously, you're not driving
anymore." "KPIX 5 REPORTER DEVIN
FEHELY:
The company is still in the
prototype phase, but they hope
as autonomous technology becomes
more and more widespread to
