MIND THE ROAD
Mercedes inspired by Avatar film lets you control car with your MIND – there’s NO steering wheel & tyres move sideways
The car can be driven from either seat and imitates creatures from the Avatar
FUTURISTIC Mercedes car is inspired by the Avatar movie and can be controlled with your mind.
Mercedes Vision AVTR is a straight out of the science fiction concept automobile created in collaboration with James Cameron's film studio.
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The AVTR is shorthand for the film Avatar but also for "Advanced Vehicle Transformation,” says Mercedes.
This neon-lit chrome egg vehicle is supposed to recreate a feeling of a living organism rather than a soulless object.
Gorden Wagener, Mercedes-Benz's design chief, said: “Everything can be changed, and at the same time has an impact on the whole organism, or the car.
“The user experience as a central element is comparable to a symbiotic organism.”
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The automobile's shape was directly inspired by the creatures in the bestselling blockbuster.
On Pandora, the planet in Avatar, Na'vi people ride incredible flying creatures called banshees and make symbiotic brain connections with the creatures using their hair.
In Mercedes car, a driver is able to connect his mind to the vehicle using Brain Computer Interface (BCI).
Unfortunately, you won't be able to actually drive the car using your brain, but the technology can be used to control parts of the user interface.
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This could include changing the radio station, or choosing a different colour of ambient lighting inside.
You'll put on a helmet with wearable electrons that attach to the back of your head.
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After a minute of calibration, the vehicle will project light dots onto the digital dashboard.
And then your brain will react to the visual stimuli, which can then be measured by the device.
After your brain waves get analysed to recognise which light points you focused on, the function will begin.
There’s no steering wheel or pedals here, and the AVTR can be driven from either front seat.
You push the joystick forward or back to accelerate or brake and tilt it to either side to turn or twist the top of the controller to crabwalk.
The driving position is laid back, with cocoon-style seats and huge expanses of glass from the windshield and doors providing a great view out.
Place your hand on the centre console, and the AVTR literally pulses to life.
The car’s spatial audio speakers play the thump of a heartbeat, eight exciters in the seats vibrate in sync, and ambient lighting fluctuates around the cabin.
Thirty-three individually controlled flaps on the rear move organically as the AVTR drives, like gills or bristling wings.
Pandora is covered in bio-luminescent fauna, so the AVTR’s cabin is full of radical lighting.
Vision AVTR rolls on four oversized wheels that look like cartoon donuts.
The Vision uses recycled materials made from old clothes and plastic bottles, and vegan leather.
“We share the belief that we need a more respectful approach to nature,” says Mercedes CEO Ola Källenius, referencing Avatar's message of saving the planet.
The entirety of the Y-shaped dashboard functions as a display through projection, and it shows the landscape on Pandora.
Raise your hand, and menus are projected onto your palm, using gestures to make selections and control different functions.
While parked, you can use the display to take a virtual tour of Pandora or one of three wonders of the natural world: the Huangshan Mountains in China, the Hyperion tree in the US, and Lake Hillier in Australia.
The ground is bathed in blue light from the wheels as the AVTR glides around.
As you approach the vehicle, it can sense your presence and will illuminate as the curvaceous doors open.
The AVTR uses a unique battery system which is fuelled by graphene-based organic cell chemistry rather than the toxic and rare metals normally used for EVs.
It can recharge in fewer than 15 minutes and boasts a range of 434 miles, according to Mercedes.
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The technology of the concept car is still years away, and it lacks simple real-life necessities like side-mirrors, storage space and cup holders.
But it's great news for anyone who hates groping at the touchscreens of modern cars to change temperatures.
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