When the Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR concept was presented for the first time at the 2020 CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas, every aspect of it was limited to paper and a purely Sci-Fi experience. It was a joint effort between Mercedes-Benz and Disney to showcase visionary future ideas. And the main focus here was sustainability and advanced connectivity.
Mercedes-Benz wants to reinvent the way we communicated with cars. And now at the 2021 IAA Mobility in Munich, Mercedes-Benz has showcased the first working idea towards the ambitious world of human-machine connect. The magic word here is BCI (Brain-computer interfaces) which theoretically helps a person to control various functions of the car using just thoughts.
Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR wants you to be one with the vehicle, quite literally!
Mercedes-Benz VISION AVTR: A Sci-Fi Experience Working Towards Reality
When first showcased in 2020, the VISION AVTR was worthy of a place in Sci-Fi movies and animes. It pictured an ambitious idea of a car being controlled entirely by the mind. But even with such sophistication in mind, Merc also wanted their future to be sustainable.
The AVTR in its name stands for Advanced Vehicle Transformation and is a vision of designers, engineers, and researchers of future mobility at Mercedes-Benz. It features a radical new "one-bow" design that fused the exterior and interior into one entity. Merc uses sustainable materials like recycled vegan leather, rattan that thrives on bio-diversity, and organic battery tech for a 100% sustainable layout.
But the highlight was the VISION AVTR being able to detect the passenger by their heartbeat and controls were projected onto the palm. No steering wheel here as this futuristic car had a multi-function control element in the center console (something like the joystick on an Xbox controller, but way cooler!) Solar energy was also utilized using 33 bionic flaps on the rear of the vehicle that gave a breathing sensation for the vehicle. The AVATAR movie connection is quite strong here.
VISION AVTR's Mind Control Tech Was Showcased At IAA 2021
But all of these "dreamy" and Sci-Fi bits are slowly inching towards reality as Mercedes-Benz has showcased their first-ever application of mind-control of the VISION AVTR at IAA 2021. They made it possible using Brain-Computer Interface technology which is a well-known option in the medical field for physically handicapped people.
This technology helps to express and indicate without the need for voice or movement. With a nifty head-band, Mercedes-Benz had put up a live mock-up of the AVTR's interior to showcase the power of thoughts to curious visitors. The BCI device with wearable electrodes records the neural activity at the cortex in real-time.
As of now, the tech takes quite the time to act and react, but it works for sure. Functions ranging from toggling the air-con system, controlling the infotainment, to steering the vehicle are all possibilities that BCI puts forth in the long run. Mercedes-Benz is sure-footed on making biometrics the future of mobility and it is already looking cool.
Still A Far-Fetched Idea, But There's Progress And Hope
It is clearly not a refined tech and there are a lot of downsides to this, especially when the mind is involved. The control of functions using BCI requires a lot of focus, which is hard to be retained in the long run. While the tech does have a future, we feel that it is better to keep it confined to secondary functions like comfort and entertainment inside the cabin.
This tech has a huge potential outside the realm of automobiles as well which opens up to a whole new world of possibilities. Well, this is one "fairy" tale that is shaping up to be true!
Sources: Media.mbusa.com, Slashgear.com