Future of Automobility

We’re on the cusp of a revolution in transportation. What will streets teeming with self-driving cars really mean?

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read time:

2 minutes

published:

June

2015

We’re on the cusp of a revolution in transportation. What will streets teeming with self-driving cars really mean? Once our hands are off the steering wheel and more vehicles are shared rather than owned, what will change in our lives?

IDEO has decades of experience with automotive work, which has brought keen insight into the trends and technologies that will define the vehicles of the future. This presents an important design opportunity: If we visualize today the way we’ll live in decades to come, we’ll be better prepared to make smart decisions when the age of autonomous vehicles arrives.

The Future of Automobility is an online visualization of how life with driverless cars might really look and feel. It considers four scenarios: “Moving People,” which looks at how commutes will change when we can look away from the road; “Moving Things,” where we examine automated package-delivery fleets; “Moving Spaces,” where we envision mobile offices meeting people where they live and parking in underused areas of our cities; and “Moving Together,” which explores how the interior of future vehicles will be customized to meet our personal needs during ride-sharing.

The experience is as emotionally compelling as it is feasible, combining radical innovation in transportation concepts with immersive storytelling. It expresses not just our vision of the future, but also how we work, how we think, and what we value.

*Individual pods adapt to passengers' needs for privacy, productivity, or relaxation.*

Working spaces meet people where they live, creating an inverse commute.

*Self-driving trucks deliver everything from your new jeans to a hot lunch, almost instantly.*

*Autonomous vehicles enable commuters to be far more productive en route.*

Want More?‍

IDEO alum Jonah Houston continues the conversation in a Medium article on how the horse can provide inspiration on designing modern driving interfaces.