Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR – inspired by AVATAR

 

VISION AVTR – inspired by AVATAR

The AVTR has an overall animalistic, living vibe. The fastback-ish rear is covered with 33 moving reptilian-scale panels. Mercedes says they are supposed to mimic an animal extending its hair or fur. Light strips flow through the whole vehicle, meant to remind the viewer of a neural network. The car is less a machine and more a living creature, said Ola Källenius, the chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, as he introduced the AVTR (you pronounce the letters independently, and it stands for Advanced Vehicle Transformation).

One of the ways the concept almost merges the human with the vehicle is through its biometric connection controls. There is no steering wheel, just a "multifunctional control element" that recognizes the person driving when they put their palm on it. Your palm can also become a space for the car to reach out to you by projecting a menu that then responds to your hand movements.

Even the way the car can move is different and animalistic: think crab. The front and rear axles can be rotated in the same or opposite directions, allowing the AVTR to move sideways at up to an approximately 30-degree angle.

Källenius said the concept is meant to stretch people's ideas of what a car can be far, far into the future. The Mercedes-Benz Vision AVTR, he explained, is meant to spark people's imagination, just as the best science-fiction movies do

Apart from the animal references, the concept is full of innovative ideas. There's a compostable 110-kilowatt-hour battery made using graphene-based organic cell chemistry that doesn't require any rare-earth minerals or metals. The interior is covered in sustainable materials such as vegan "leather" and quick-growing rattan. Källenius said the Vision AVTR is meant to put technology and nature in balance and to show how it's possible for a vehicle to have zero negative impact on the planet.

Interior and exterior merge

For the first time, Mercedes-Benz has worked with a completely new design approach in the design of the VISION AVTR. The holistic concept combines the design disciplines interior, exterior and UX from the first sketch. Man and human perception are the starting point of a design process from the inside out. The design process begins with the experience of the passengers and consciously focuses on the perception and needs of the passengers. The goal was to create a car that prolongs the perception of its 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.

Sustainable materials

It is recycled material made from old clothing, flags and PET plastic bottles. During production, attention is paid to low pollutant emissions and low energy consumption. Thanks to its versatility, maximum performance and high quality, DINAMICA® is suitable for use in luxurious car interiors. It also guarantees slip resistance for passengers on the seats. The softness of the material gives the occupants a “welcome home” feeling. 

Large areas such as the back shell of the seat and the sky are decorated with a color changing fabric inspired by the colour world of the sea. Depending on the light, the textile changes its colour from dark blue to a subtle light blue. These seats are refined by the vegan DINAMICA^® leather. DINAMICA^® is the first and only microfiber that guarantees environmental sustainability throughout the entire production cycle.

Intuitive control

The VISION AVTR already responds to the approach of the passengers by visualizing the energy and information flow of the environment with digital neurons that flow through the grille through the wheels to the rear area. The first interaction in the interior between man and vehicle happens completely intuitively via the control unit: by placing the hand on the centre console, the interior comes to life and the vehicle recognizes the driver by his breathing. This is made visible on the instrument panel and on the user’s hand. The VISION AVTR thus establishes a biometric connection with the driver and increases his awareness of the environment. The digital neurons flow from the interior into the exterior and visualize the flow of energy and information. For example, when driving, the neurons flow over the outside of the vehicle. When changing direction, the energy flows to the corresponding side of the vehicle.

The vehicle as an immersive experience space

The visual connection between passengers and the outside world is created by the curved display module, which replaces a conventional dashboard. The outside world around the vehicle and the surrounding area is shown in real-time 3D graphics and at the same time shows what is happening on the road in front of the vehicle. Combined with energy lines, these detailed real-time images bring the interior to life and allow passengers to discover and interact with the environment in a natural way with different views of the outside world. Three wonders of nature – the Huangshan Mountains of China, the 115-metre-high Hyperion Tree found in the United States and the pink salt Lake Hillier from Australia – can be explored in detail. Passengers become aware of various forces of nature that are not normally visible to the human eye, such as magnetic fields, bio energy or ultraviolet light.