‘In a digital future, there are no limits to what
can be imagined. We could offer everything
in the car – really overwhelm the user with
information,’ says Melanie Goldmann, head
of Culture and Trends Communication at
Audi. ‘But we want to put people at the center
of attention. The car should become a smart
membrane. The right information should
reach the user at the right time.’ Speaking to
The New York Times, Hakan Kostepen, execu-
tive director for strategy and innovation at
Panasonic’s automotive-systems unit, put ita little more directly: ‘On paper, it seems
great that I can read email on my car’s
window, but will we actually want it?’
Despite BMW’s insistence that the car
should not be a refuge from your Outlook
inbox, the automaker’s recently released
iNEXT concept does present an interest-
ing departure from those of its screen-first
predecessors. The car employs what the brand
calls ‘shy tech’, meaning much of the digital
infrastructure recedes into the background.
Both the fabric on the sofa-style back seatScreens inhabit a variety of surfaces, from
windows to tabletops, in Volvo’s 360c
concept, which can shift from meeting
room to wet bar to bedroom.
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