Rotating seats and eye-control systems – is this the car interior of the future?

The car brand says it believes “autonomous vehicles will be commonplace and socially accepted in cities of the future”. Google is among companies that are currently developing prototypes of self-driving cars.

With this in mind, Mercedes has developed designs that it says take car interiors beyond “purely a means of transport”, transforming them into “an individual retreat in urban traffic… a relaxing travel lounge or mobile office”.

The new Mercedes designs feature a variable seating system, with four rotating chairs. This means that the front passengers can turn round to sit face-to-face with the rear passengers, or swivel around to face the road ahead. There is also an extendable steering wheel to allow for movement.

Elsewhere, the interiors have been designed as a “digital living space”. Passengers will be able to interact with the vehicle through gestures or touch displays, while the system will recognise controls through eye, hand or finger movements.

The vehicle’s surroundings, including pedestrians and other road users, will be brought into the interior and “portrayed as fluid all-round information on displays”, Mercedes says.

Gorden Wagener, head of design at Mercedes owner Daimler AG, says: “With this visionary interior concept we are defining the luxury of the future. We have achieved a symbiosis of the virtual and real worlds and realised the most intelligent solutions in a highly aesthetic design.”

The design concept was unveiled at the Mercedes TecDay on autonomous mobility in California.