Mercedes-Benz has designed a concept electric car, the Mercedes Benz Vision AVTR, that is “inspired by Avatar” and it looks out of this world.
The luxury vehicle maker says the otherworldly car was initially inspired by “man and human perception” and what they imagined would be the perception and experience of the passengers.
“It was also a matter of creating an immersive experience space in which passengers connect with each other, with the vehicle and the surrounding area in a unique way,” says Merc.
Its seats and roof are wrapped with a fabric that changes colour. Mercedes-Benz says this was inspired by the colours of the sea.“Depending on the light, the textile changes its colour from dark blue to a subtle light blue,” it says.
The seats are made from vegan Dinamica leather — what Mercedes-Benz says is the first and only microfibre that guarantees environmental sustainability throughout the entire production cycle.
“It is recycled material made from old clothing, flags and PET plastic bottles.”
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The car is also intuitive. Mercedes-Benz says the first interaction between the car and passengers happens “intuitively” via the control unit. The car recognises drivers by picking up on their breathing when they place their hands on the centre console. It also establishes a biometric connection with the driver.
The wordplay in the ‘AVTR’ part of the name stands for “Advanced Vehicle TRansformation”. Based on the exterior and what it has under the hood, the “transformation” of the car industry is highly possible if this AVTR ever makes it to the mainstream industry and onto the streets.
“Completely without emissions”
Mercedes-Benz says its car is “completely without emissions” and it uses “[o]rganic battery technology”.
Its high-voltage battery is designed using technology based on graphene-based organic cell chemistry. This allows it to “completely eliminate rare, toxic and expensive earth such as metals”. Mercedes-Benz says its electromobility project is independent of fossil resources.
“An absolute revolution is also the recyclability by composting, which is 100% recyclable due to the materiality. As a result, Mercedes-Benz underlines the high relevance of a future circular economy in the raw materials sector.”
Charges in 15 minutes
The concept car charges while it drives. It has automated, conductive charging technology which fully charges the battery in less than 15 minutes.
“With a capacity of around 110 kWh, the VISION AVTR enables an electric range of more than 700 kilometres,” claims Mercedes.
Mercedes-Benz says it aimed to design an energy-efficient car that doesn’t negatively affect driving power. It says energy consumption per computing operation is already a key target in the development of new computer chips for cars. In coming years, the luxury car maker says it expects extensive growth of sensor and artificial intelligence usage in the automotive industry.
“The neuro-inspired approach of the VISION AVTR, including so-called neuromorphic hardware, promises to minimise the energy requirements of sensors, chips, and other components to a few watts,” says Merc.
“Due to the possibility to drive the front and rear axles simultaneously or in opposite ways, the VISION AVTR can move sideways by approx. 30 degrees, in contrast to conventional vehicles.”
“This concept vehicle embodies the vision of Mercedes-Benz designers, engineers and trend researchers for mobility in the distant future.”
Source: Mercedes-Benz