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Volvo: Safety Beyond the Star RatingsThe Most Futuristic of Cars: Cadillac’s InnerSpace
The latest concept from Cadillac offers a glimpse into the stunning future of autonomous driving.
Blurring Sci-Fi and Reality
This year’s CES (Consumer Electronics Show) featured a lot of significant vehicle debuts along with some mind-blowingly futuristic cars. Among the most compelling of the latter, was Cadillac’s new “halo concept” the InnerSpace, which is described as a “autonomous 2-passenger luxury coupe.” Such a designation fails to capture the science fiction feel of the InnerSpace. A concept that fits perfectly as the centerpiece of Cadillac’s autonomous vehicle presentation.
In addition to the InnerSpace, Cadillac showcased both a personal autonomous drone vehicle, or PersonalSpace concept, and an autonomous van, what Cadillac calls the SocialSpace concept. Both concepts are almost directly taken from the most recent season HBO’s Westworld, so evident is their near future/sci-fi emphasis. For its part, the InnerSpace may look something like a traditional coupe, but upon closer inspection it proves to be anything but.
Look Ma, No Hands (or Feet)
If the automotive concepts of the 1950s taught us anything, it’s that rocket ship sleekness denotes the future, and thus, anything intended to evoke said future must look as streamlined as a squid. The broad grille and large wheels of the InnerSpace accentuate its lack of verticality. The one-piece windshield and roof rake rearward at what looks, generously, like a 15-degree angle.
Even getting into the InnerSpace is intended to inspire awe. And awe it achieves. The roof and windshield are one continuous piece of glass that hinges up and forward when the doors open. The couch-like bench seat turns out to be actually two seats, with each side swivel outward for ease of access.
The inside of the InnerSpace is dominated by an expansive wrap-around LED screen that takes up the entire dash and extends vertically to the roof. Cadillac says this screen offers three configurations: augmented reality, entertainment, or wellness recovery. Emphasis for the InnerSpace is on a spa-like, rejuvenating experience.
Perhaps most intriguing (and cryptic) of the InnerSpace’s features which Cadillac describes as “AI-driven interface with biometric tracking capability that mirror’s your digital device and evaluates your personal needs.” Translated this sounds like the InnerSpace will, along with your phone’s help, track your biomarkers (heart rate, breathing, etc.) and react accordingly by, one would guess, adjusting the car’s lighting, sound, and cabin aromatics.
As a dedicated autonomous vehicle, the InnerSpace lacks a traditional steering wheel or even pedals. But then, who will need those when you’re busy meditating, napping, or playing video games on your daily commute? And the above features would be just the table setting for the InnerSpace. Cadillac’s Ultify over-the-air updates would mean features could be added or updated on the fly.
And for a super quiet ride, Cadillac has Goodyear providing tires specifically designed for electric vehicles that incorporate non-petroleum-based materials including soybean oil and rice husk-based silica. Indeed, it’s good to see tire makers accounting for the whisper-quiet drivetrain of EVs when designing tires for those vehicles.
The Future of Driving
Cadillac’s stated vision of an autonomous future is defined, in their words, by three goals: zero emissions, zero crashes, and zero congestion. Taking a step back, it’s important to keep in mind that these kinds of pithy mission statements are more targets to aim for than actual plans of action. The first item, zero emissions is probably the most realistic in the near term, fossil-fuel sourced electricity notwithstanding. A fully autonomous fleet could, in theory achieve the second. The third item would, one imagines, be a byproduct of achieving the second item.
But for a company that just released the Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing, a driver’s car if there was one, Cadillac’s vision of an autonomous future leaves one wondering where human autonomy fits into the picture. The InnerSpace, with all its sci-fi flare, imagines a future where buyers prefer giving up control, and perhaps a sense of agency along with it, in exchange for the pampering comforts of automation; a future in which there are no drivers, only passengers.
And this is to say nothing of the global challenges of scaling electric autonomous vehicles from high-end luxury baubles to replacing all current examples of gas-powered, human-controlled conveyance. Still, as Henry David Thoreau wrote: “Men rarely hit what they aim for, so they had better aim high.” With the Cadillac InnerSpace, GM seems to at least have the “aim high” part taken care of.
