Lexus has built a new concept car based on the RC F coupe, which can reflect the driver’s heartbeat on the outside via electro-luminescent paint.
Named the Heartbeat Car, the car has been adapted with world-first biometric technology, which Lexus says is a visual representation of the emotional and physical bond between car and driver.
Inside the modified RC F, the car uses a standard heartbeat monitor to beam the driver’s heartbeat wirelessly to a control board mounted in the rear of the vehicle.
This custom-built board takes the signal from the driver’s heart and transfers it to the special luminescent paint to display it in a pulsating pattern on the side panels of the car.
The unique paint, which contain phosphorescent substances that emit light in response to an electric current, has been created by US-based company Lumilor, which has previously worked with Tesla.
Designed to only light up when electric signals are sent through it, the Lexus concept has a standard silver finish with no sign of its glowing capabilities when the heartbeat monitor is off.
Created over a six-month period at a closed-off track in Australia with help from creative technology firm M&C Saatchi, Lexus says that the project’s aim was to connect the human body and the car.
Ben Cooper, innovation director at M&C Saatchi, said: “We're changing the conversation from top speeds, to talking about what the car does to you emotionally.
"We saw firsthand that when you sat in the passenger seat with a professional driver taking you around the track, your heart goes through the roof when he takes that corner. From there, we looked at how we were going to take the heartbeat and express it throughout the car."
Mr Cooper said that Lexus has big ideas about the technology’s possible applications, with the control board opening the possibility of displaying drivers’ intentions to other road users.
“The control board is the biggest opportunity because the inputs are endless,” he said. “Suddenly, I could show when I'm turning left or turning right or accelerating.”
