If you’ve ever flown a transcontinental flight in either business or first class, the appeal of a fully autonomous car ride outfitted with the connected comforts of a mobile office space is immediately evident. Instead of simply being a passenger, the Volvo Car’s 360c autonomous concept imagines driverless travel offering valuable time to enjoy the commute, work, and even sleep in the privacy and confines of a luxurious cabin on four wheels.
Volvo Car’s Mårten Levenstam describes the 360c as a “conversation starter” rather than a predestined design for the Swedish automobile manufacturer – an exploration of possibilities autonomous technology may impart onto society and infrastructure. These changes are obviously directed at delivering a first-class private cabin experience in parallel to upper tier air travel, moving passengers door to door without the friction of public transportation or even private modes shared amongst passengers today.
The 360c autonomous driving technology and spacious cabin imagines passenger coddled in 1-2 passenger vehicles with their own “sleeping environment, mobile office, living room, and entertainment space”, no doubt with all the safety features and technologies Volvo Cars are already renowned for. Ultimately, it’s the luxury of privacy that is envisioned here, since routes cited such as New York to Washington DC and Los Angeles to San Diego are already served by an autonomous mode of transportation already available, sans privacy: trains.
