“I am really excited about creating the emotional machine,” said Michael Robinson, Creative Director and CEO of ED Design, in the above interview filmed at International CES 2015. Robinson was referring to his long-term goal that is even bigger than automating the driving experience; a concept he already proved 15 years ago with his design work for Lancia and the fully functioning, Nea; a car capable of autonomous driving. His aim is to create a human-machine interface that is akin to what is seen in movies like Iron Man.
Robinson, a world-renowned car designer, understands the emotional connection that many have with their cars. This connection manifests itself with the attachment many have with the steering wheel; remove that connection, which will happen with Level 4 automation, and there will be a lot of upset people. The challenge is how to replace the hands-on-the-wheel experience with something that is even better.
To solve this dilemma, he is leading MAAL (Mobile Autonomous Automobile Laboratory), which is meant to be a sort of sand box for various entities to test different experiences as autonomy is added to vehicles. Robinson will reveal the first generation MAAL concept car on Tuesday, March 3rd, 2015 during a press conference at the Geneva Auto Show. He calls this effort a leapfrog over what incumbent automakers are doing to automate the driving experience.
Robinson emphasizes that we are on the brink of a major disruption that will mean major cultural, social and economic changes. Automating transport will cause a major displacement of workers and entire categories of jobs will be eliminated. He is quick to point out that new jobs, that we can’t imagine, will be created in their place.
At the same time, individuals and society will see safety and efficiency benefits. He stresses that, “We need to quit killing people with our cars.” As Mark Platshon, Senior Advisor of BMW i Ventures pointed out at a recent SV Forum event, autonomy could be called the ACA – the Avoidable Healthcare Act. Platshon suggested U.S. savings alone on the order of $1,000 per person, if autonomy fulfills its promise of significantly reducing accidents.
This sort of benefit is exactly what Robinson has in mind when he indicated that the ultimate goal of MAAL is to make the world a better place.
Stay tuned for pictures of MAAL from the Geneva Auto show.
