From personalising shared mobility to selling autonomy, seating proves central

Autonomous drive and shared mobility promise to revolutionise transportation. As drivers become passengers, and as owners become users, the interior of the vehicle will need to evolve to meet new demands. Adient has offered a glimpse of its vision of transport in the year 2030 with the two show cars AI17 and AI18. The interiors of both vehicles have been optimised for a world of autonomous drive, with the AI18 designed for shared mobility as well. “These trends will considerably change car architecture and seating,” explained Thomas Gunkel, Principle Designer for Industrial Design at Adient, speaking in a recent FISITA Technical Webinar. Autonomous driving revolves around the question of what people will do with their time in the vehicle if they no longer need to concentrate on the task of driving. Whether they chose to relax, sleep, converse with others or conduct a business meeting, the interior will need to accommodate new demands. Adient’s research started with these questions, and its first answer was the AI17 demonstrator, unveiled early this year at the North American International Auto Show. Innovation highlights Based on a Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the AI17 represents a luxurious version of a privately owned autonomous vehicle. One of the key innovations include a deep recline option, which promises the comfort of a living room recliner. However, arm support in deep recline introduced ingress/egress problems, which were eventually solved by a swivel function. “To enhance communication, both the driver and passenger seat can swivel inward 15 degrees. It may be just a few degrees but it helps enhance communication,” explained Gunkel. With the AI18, Adient tackled the challenges of an autonomous shared vehicle targeted at urban mobility. Based on a Mercedes-Benz C-Class, this smaller model needs to meet a vast range of needs from different user groups in the course of a day. “It was designed for different users with different expectations. Our target was to create something that allows for various car configurations to reflect the different situations of the day,” noted Gunkel. The design team came up with configuration for five different modes of travel: Lounge Mode, Communication Mode, Baby Plus Mode, Cargo Mode and Family Mode. “The purpose was to create something with a flexible interior setup and highly adaptable seating which would allow every user to use the car as if it were his or her own car,” he said. As with the AI17, deep recline functionality was important. While designers could offer a decline of up to 50 degrees, it didn’t come easily. A new type of pivot was required, along with a new means of arm support. With shared mobility, the arm rest introduced a serious ingress/egress issue and had to be removed. Instead, arm support was designed to come from the bolster. For leg support an ottoman feature was introduced. The head rest became not just a safety feature but also a comfort one, with lateral support via a wing feature to facilitate sleeping. A speaker system was also incorporated into the headrest. Notably, the seats don’t just swivel and recline. They also slide. One of the most important innovations was the long track feature. “We need long sliding tracks for a versatile and flexible space to create lounge features and the communication mode,” Gunkel stated. While the long tracks allow for much more freedom with the seating position, they also mean passengers may not be able to reach traditional functions like radio, heating or cooling controls. “Seat-integrated controls are a key feature. The AI18 use digital control devices combined with gesture control,” he noted. “In general, HMI becomes a really important field now. With more flexibility within the car, the seat becomes more relevant and more features and functions will be incorporated into it.” Pre-adjustable by app While the AI18 offers numerous options for configurations, selecting those options had to be easy. Nobody using a car share service would want to spend ten minutes outside the vehicle moving seats about before they began their journey. “Car share setups could see an individual use four or five different cars during the day. We don’t think people would accept it if they had to adjust the seat in every car, again and again,” said Gunkel. “That’s why we developed the ability to pre-adjust by app.” Service users can save all their presets on their smart mobile device. As soon as they enter the car, the presets would be uploaded. This could cover everything from the seating to the lighting and the radio settings. “With such connectivity features, a shared car feels like your own car,” he added. “This is a key feature to create more interest for car share.” Passive safety A flexible interior with a readily movable structure poses significant challenges for traditional safety approaches. Seat belts, for instance, will need to adapt to a seat that moves about. Adient is currently working with auto safety specialist Autoliv to find a more creative answer to the three-point seat belt. Airbags could offer a solution to some challenges, and the AI18 features two airbags in the swivelling passenger seat. The specific seating position would determine which airbag would be activated in which situation. Research “Research is key for innovation. It's not that we just are starting to develop new products based on megatrends. We also try to gather insights from end consumers,” said Gunkel. Adient recently conducted a study among consumers in the US, Europe and Asia, gauging opinion on autonomous drive and car-sharing. “Many end consumers are very interested in these new solutions, but there is also some hesitation, particularly around giving away control. Many drivers of today are used to controlling a car and also like it. Driving a car stands for freedom, and we should not underestimate that people view that as critical,” emphasised Gunkel. “That influenced our findings for solutions. If you take away control and freedom you have to offer something.” That something is the ability to make full use of their leisure time with an interior that supports the activities they wish to pursue. The opportunities for further development and research are almost unlimited. Adient is looking into bio-based systems that could detect driver stress levels and respond with calming measures such as a seat massage function. There is also the possibility for designing a car that could transport the children to school, without requiring a parental presence. This would require a strong element of trust, and Adient is keen to find out exactly what that entails.

From personalising shared mobility to selling autonomy, seating proves central

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