For their tenth visionary project together, HARMAN and Rinspeed will debut the SNAP concept car at CES 2018, highlighting a rich user experience (UX) for full level 5 autonomous driving—sans steering wheel—to be used as early as 2025.
The Rinspeed SNAP completes a trilogy of connected car concept vehicles HARMAN will be showcasing at CES. SNAP will accompany a market-ready vehicle, showcasing transformative digital cockpit experiences from HARMAN and Samsung; and a semi-autonomous car, which will demonstrate HARMAN’s industry-leading ADAS/Automated Driving platform, solutions and partnerships.
The Rinspeed SNAP illustrates a visionary concept: providing a seamless user experience no matter the occupant of the vehicle. Setup like a “skateboard” and “pod,” the SNAP chassis pulls high-mileage duty while the “pods” function as detachable user environments. In three to four years, the “skateboard” would travel some 200,000 miles and heed the call of various “pod” owners/users, allowing SNAP to easily accommodate diverse users and their needs by adapting to the preference and mood of those inside. For example, four musicians would enter their SNAP “pod” to head to a gig – calling upon the “skateboard” chassis to take them where they need to go. When combined, the vehicle adjusts the in-car environment to provide the “comfort” drive style so they are relaxed before their performance, as well as “quiet” mode, which activates noise cancellation of city sounds, and dims the lighting. Alternatively, the SNAP can adapt to picking up a young couple for a holiday trip as well as a third person for a shared ride to the airport. Temperature, color schemes and music zones adjust, destinations are loaded and the route is shown, motion sickness avoidance is displayed, and an intelligent ride sharing playlist is enabled—all customizable features to suit the passengers and their preferences.
Various forward-looking features will be displayed in the Rinspeed SNAP to accomplish this flexible environment, including true Level 5 infotainment, an intelligent personal assistant, the ability to personalize the car to individual needs, and full connectivity to the outside world. For the Rinspeed SNAP, HARMAN has designed a HMI and UX for mobility experiences when the focus is no longer on activity on the road, but on activity within the car. In a shared economy, individualization will be a challenge, but HARMAN and Rinspeed address this through authentication which occurs in three steps. A smart device first unlocks vehicle personalization via a token, while two-step verification (facial recognition for example) permits access to personal content, with biometric identification serving as the final step to protect confidential information such as real-time health monitoring.
Also integrated into the car are several of HARMAN’s latest solutions that underpin the complete connected car, including the Ignite cloud platform, cyber security measures, over-the-air software updates, vehicle-to-everything communication, a 5G-enabled telematics control unit and more.
HARMAN has worked with Rinspeed to develop an interior that addresses current and future display trends which see consumers using multiple screens throughout their daily life, from their home computer, to smartphone, to tablet, to smart TV, to work computer and back again. Inside the concept vehicle are the following technologies:
- Integration of the Pepper personal robot for use as a concierge service and general helpmate
- A Personal Control Panel (PCP) at each of the four seats, featuring a high density multi-touch interface and interactive rotary dial with contextual haptic feedback
- Large central display area at each row of seats which will facilitate onboard collaboration
- Front and back external communication windshield projections and lateral windows projections for a larger workspace or shared visuals
- HoverTab tablet that easily moves into three distinct positions for the user’s convenience, with the ability to retract behind the seat
To learn more about the Rinspeed SNAP concept car and its HARMAN and Samsung components, watch the below demo video, or schedule an appointment to visit the HARMAN CES showcase at The Hard Rock Hotel and Casino.