Every now and then the automotive industry entices players from other fields to imagine the car of the past, present, or future. We have seen some one-hit wonders, while others turned into exotics. Kyocera, for now, is a two-hit wonder, if we are allowed to bend the vocabulary a little.
This is because the Moeye is not their first automotive concept – albeit it’s certainly a lot more virtual (for now, at least) than its first one. Both, on the other hand, are focused on highlighting the company’s key automotive technologies and electronic features.
And we are not even surprised by this apparition, considering that events like CES in Las Vegas have been taken over by non-automotive entities with sudden interests in the car industry.
Given that Kyocera’s Moeye is a concept created by a Japanese electronics manufacturer (among others) that focuses on advanced technologies, a Sony Vision-S reference is understandable. But the strategy is, nonetheless, a bit different. This time around we’re not dealing with a generic Tesla Model S copycat, and instead the prototype gives ample vintage feelings.
That’s judging solely based on the exterior styling, because the interior is coming from the near future (one brimming with Kyocera tech, naturally). Actually, the cockpit is the real focus of this design study that will never see an actual production line. Envisioned as Kyocera’s take on the progress of autonomous driving and MaaS (Mobility as a Service), it’s a high-tech window into an interesting – and stylish – future.
The company worked with Masahiko Inami, a Professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (University of Tokyo), and together came up with the vision of a partially transparent cockpit that uses the company’s “unique optical camouflage technology.”
There are even more proprietary features on board, designed to entertain four of the five human senses (sight, touch, hearing, and even smell – only leaving out taste), such as the main “Aerial Display” that uses the entire dashboard as one high-performance liquid crystal display.
The “Haptivity” tactile transmission technology takes care of the haptic response, a special piezo-element vibration speaker covers the hearing part, and the Aroma Air Freshener has five different scents for the passenger compartment that can be changed according to the user’s mood.
And we are not even surprised by this apparition, considering that events like CES in Las Vegas have been taken over by non-automotive entities with sudden interests in the car industry.
Given that Kyocera’s Moeye is a concept created by a Japanese electronics manufacturer (among others) that focuses on advanced technologies, a Sony Vision-S reference is understandable. But the strategy is, nonetheless, a bit different. This time around we’re not dealing with a generic Tesla Model S copycat, and instead the prototype gives ample vintage feelings.
That’s judging solely based on the exterior styling, because the interior is coming from the near future (one brimming with Kyocera tech, naturally). Actually, the cockpit is the real focus of this design study that will never see an actual production line. Envisioned as Kyocera’s take on the progress of autonomous driving and MaaS (Mobility as a Service), it’s a high-tech window into an interesting – and stylish – future.
The company worked with Masahiko Inami, a Professor at the Research Center for Advanced Science and Technology (University of Tokyo), and together came up with the vision of a partially transparent cockpit that uses the company’s “unique optical camouflage technology.”
There are even more proprietary features on board, designed to entertain four of the five human senses (sight, touch, hearing, and even smell – only leaving out taste), such as the main “Aerial Display” that uses the entire dashboard as one high-performance liquid crystal display.
The “Haptivity” tactile transmission technology takes care of the haptic response, a special piezo-element vibration speaker covers the hearing part, and the Aroma Air Freshener has five different scents for the passenger compartment that can be changed according to the user’s mood.