Renault is taking the next exciting step towards fully-autonomous driving as it tests its Symbioz family car on the road.
It’s a fully-electric car, fitted with Level 4 autonomous capabilities and some of the coolest in-car tech available in any car. This includes a virtual reality experience, designed by computer game company Ubisoft, which Renault says makes it a “multi-sensory experience”.
As it’s part of the car maker’s 2030 vision, the Symbioz demonstrates how close this technology could be to reaching the roads.
Level 4 autonomy controls all aspects of driving the car but it isn’t currently legal on French roads, as in most European countries. However, French authorities are allowing tests as long as someone is in the car to supervise.
Owners will also be able to call their Symbioz to pick them up using a smart watch as part of the car’s valet parking mode.
As this car enables drivers to do more while the car drives them, it has other nifty tricks such as pushing the steering wheel back 12cm to offer more space.
Director of the Symbioz project Mathieu Lips said: “Technological advances in autonomous driving open up new opportunities for ways of using cars, especially new travelling experiences. The Symbioz demo car is the first vehicle that has been designed for mind-off automation from the start.
“On authorised highways, the driver can fully delegate driving and concentrate on other things. This exploratory exercise has helped us to envisage what the future will look like for car occupants. As such, it’s been a really important and inspiring learning experience for our engineering and design teams.”
Sandrine Woll, Symbioz project manager, added: “We designed Symbioz demo car keeping in mind that people want increasingly personal experiences, and the car too can be a very personal experience.
“We’ve decided to extend the use of the smartphone to allow Symbioz demo car to automatically recognize its drivers and passengers, which will influence everything from seat position to mood lighting and entertainment. We think people who try Symbioz demo car will be inspired by how customized their experience can be, and what’s possible in personal mobility of the future.”
