The 2014 LA Auto Show asked – for its Design Challenge – how will humans interact with cars in 2029?
Infiniti’s response was the Infiniti SYNAPTIQ: A flying racecar that you can wear and control with your mind.
A group of Infiniti designers from San Diego came up with the design, which integrates augmented reality, 3D hologram and wearable technologies as part of the futuristic everyday driving experience.
The design won the “People’s Choice Award” for its imaginative design. The SYNAPTIQ’s Sym-biotic User Interface Technology (SUIT) is designed to connect to the driver to the machine via a spinal lock attachment, which suspends the driver into the driving position and connects the driver’s thoughts to the machine. A liquid crystal canopy with an augmented reality system would display information to the driver.
The SYNAPTIQ is also designed to compete in Infiniti’s own futuristic Air, Rally, Circuit (ARC) triathlon series, by turning into an F1 car, a buggy or an air racer depending on what the driver desires or the situation requires.
“Our designers loved participating in the LA Auto Show Design Challenge, conceptualizing how Infiniti drivers could interact with their vehicle in the coming decades,” said John Sahs, interior design manager at Infiniti, and leader of the SYNAPTIQ team. “It’s extremely gratifying for the public to also dream a bit with us and identify with such ideas that may seem a bit futuristic, but may just not be that far away from reality.”