Volvo Concept 26 revealed

Volvo has revealed the Concept 26, an all-new interior design focussed around autonomous driving. Named after what the company believes to be the average commute time from work to office, 26 minutes, the concept is based around the fact that drivers are willing to hand over their cars to autonomous systems during their commute.

The Concept 26 is based around a seat design and includes some patented mechanisms which, according to the company, holds the occupant in place while the car switches between three modes – Drive, Create or Relax.

In Drive mode, the layout is like that of a standard car cabin, but in other modes, the steering retracts into the dashboard and in its place emerges a large display that may be used for infotainment or work.

Tisha Johnson, chief designer for Volvo interiors, said: “We researched what people would want to do in a car, and reconfigured the interior to allow them to do different things behind the wheel."

Activation of the autonomous mode is done via steering-mounted paddles. The driver holds the paddles for a specified amount of time and the autonomous systems take over. The car also interacts with the driver in autonomous mode allowing him to take control at any time.

Cues from design are expected to influence future Volvos, including the upcoming S90 sedan which will make its debut in January 2016. The concept has been designed with measurement and technology from Volvo’s SPA platform.

Volvo’s vice-president of R&D, Peter Mertens, said: “We have gone to great lengths to understand the challenges and opportunities that autonomous cars will bring to people in coming years, and our flexible approach to engineering and design, enabled by our SPA, means that we can readily bring this from concept to reality.”