Key Highlights:
- Audi introduced the Grandsphere, the second of three planned concept cars
- The Grandsphere is a massive luxury vehicle with two front-row seats and a rear bench
- Audi’s designers furnished the Grandsphere with front seats that recline up to 60 degrees
Customizing the Interior
The automotive sector is undergoing a technological revolution. The industry’s transition to autonomous, connected, electrified, and shared (ACES) vehicles has the potential to boost technological development and economic activity in traditional manufacturing cities in the United States. It connects the gap between high-tech innovation hubs and regions historically known for their industrial economies. Automakers admire concept cars that envision a future in which people travel in self-driving cars that imitate luxurious living spaces
The German premium brand Audi, recently introduced the Grandsphere. It is the second of three planned concept cars that the company promises would lay out a future for its products. The company will move to an all-electric lineup that will feature models with Level 4 autonomous driving capability. Brand executives stated that they want to sell a Level 4-capable vehicle to consumers by 2026. The first concept, the Skysphere, was exhibited last month; the Urbansphere will be shown next year.Â
The Grandsphere is a large luxury sedan with two front-row seats and a rear bench. Furthermore, it has two key highlights: the brand’s upcoming cat-eye LED exterior lighting signature and a customized interior that reimagines how the vehicle’s passengers would spend their time while the car is driving itself.
Functions handled by Gestures
Accessed through massive portal doors, the spacious Grandsphere interior substitutes the conventional huge darkened touch screen featured in most such luxury vehicles with one projected across a wooden substructure that wraps around the vehicle from door to door. The steering wheel and control functions are concealed behind a hinged panel on the dashboard and appear only on command from the driver. The majority of the concept’s functions are handled by gestures, voice commands, or a specific look from the driver that the vehicle’s sensors detect.
With drivers relieved of the responsibility of driving, Audi’s designers equipped the Grandsphere with front seats that recline up to 60 degrees, enabling front-row passengers to totally relax while the car drives autonomously and entertaining them with music or videos on the large screen. Audi says the interior transforms the vehicle into an “experience device.”
While the Grandsphere is a concept, Oliver Hoffmann, a member of Audi’s board of management for development, says the concept demonstrates how the industry must reconsider its complete design approach for EVs and autonomous driving.
“Highly autonomous driving is a game-changer because it means we are developing and designing cars from the inside out,” Hoffmann explained.
Also Read: Four Things to Consider When Buying a First Car.
