The annual Ideas Festival at the Kia and and Hyundai Namyang R&D center recently took place, giving employees of Kia and Hyundai a chance to get creative and show designs of what they think could be the future of cars.
Teams have six months to come up with a design and create a concept in accordance with a particular theme, with this year's theme being "journey together to a better future." Here are some of the weirdest and coolest concept cars to come from the festival.
Solar Dream
The Solar Dream team created a car that is "compact" and that is able to turn into a van if necessary. For example, the vehicle can be stretched to accommodate a stretcher and patient like an ambulance. It could be transformed into a small library on wheels for children who don't have access to a classroom. In fact, the car itself is designed to be used in places like Africa and other areas in the developing world. As far as the "solar" part of the car goes, there are panels on the roof to help power the car.
Concert Car
A team called Ucan Concert actually won the grand prize for this car, despite the fact that it could certainly lead to an irritating driving situation for the driver. The car's seats, steering wheel and dashboard all turn into drums, keyboards and bass, and this will, according to the team, provide "better happiness" in traffic jams.
Origine
This car was arguably the most concept-looking of the cars at the festival, and it is comprised of two massive wheels with an axle, which is where the driver sits. The driver has two joysticks, one on either side of his or her seat, and the car is aimed at being able to overcome a variety of different terrains while keeping the driver upright. Apparently, the car itself requires no driver's license to drive, lasts 20 hours on a battery charge and has a top speed of 50 kilometers per hour, or around 30 miles per hour.
Avatar Drive
The Avatar Drive was a virtual reality concept that allows the "driver" to drive the car remotely. For the driver, it's basically a video game, with the car actually existing and being driven somewhere else. According to the team, an example for the car's use was when "the husband" had gone out and gotten drunk. His wife could then pick him up from the comfort of their home. There are, however, plenty of other uses for the concept.
Via: Motherboard
