Self-driving car manufacturers today often tout the technical aspect to their proprietary autonomous vehicle technologies when promoting prototypes, and Rinspeed is contributing a fresher perspective to this focus.
The company announced that its Rinspeed Oasis concept car will throw in self-swiveling seating accommodations and a host of other innovations that could give it an edge over vehicles coming out of Tesla or Google.
The idea, according to the company, is to not forget that the self-driving car is also a living space. It is this point that led the company to create a complementing car interior technology that creates an ambience similar to a modern-day family room.
Aside from the swiveling chairs, for example, the Oasis also boasts features such as an armchair, TV and a windshield that doubles as a screen for augmented reality. There is still the presence of a steering wheel but this component also doubles as a dining table.
A really cool feature that could seem funny to some involves a space in front of the dashboard. This can purportedly be used as a little greenhouse that passengers can use for gardening while being ferried to their destination.
One particular characteristic that can really make the Oasis concept more effective is the sheer size of the interior. The concept is more of a van than a sedan. This seemingly minor detail can prove to be crucial. As the passenger is completely freed from driving, there is nothing left to do but wait, and being confined to a really small space can be a boring and uncomfortable experience.
Jalopnik said it best when it pointed out that when the passengers are inside, they can just kind of hang out.
When Rinspeed introduced the Oasis concept, it said that the vehicle is analogous to R2-D2. The car is being phrased as a companion to humans with its smart capabilities that can adapt to its passengers' needs. This can be demonstrated in the way the vehicle can be easily reconfigured to suit different users or situations.
"Oasis can be commuting or shopping car in the morning, act as a 'micro delivery vehicle' for urban parcel services in the afternoon, and be a pizza taxi on the evening drive home," Rinspeed said.
Since what Rinspeed presented was a concept, it is easy to doubt whether the vision is viable or can be transformed into reality. But it appears that Rinspeed is almost ready to reveal a prototype. The company promised to unveil an actual Oasis car in next year's CES confab happening in January.
The car has really cool and fresh ideas and one cannot help but hope that in several months' time, Rinspeed could actually deliver the goods.
Rinspeed also announced a self-driving sports car concept called Etos a year ago. This vehicle is equipped with a drone pad.
