AUTO SHOW-GENEVA/ROBOT CAR Rinspeed robotic self-driving car bridges gap between man and machine

Record ID: 401971

  • Title: AUTO SHOW-GENEVA/ROBOT CAR Rinspeed robotic self-driving car bridges gap between man and machine
  • Date: 4th March 2015
  • Summary: INTERIOR OF BUDII DIGITAL SCREEN SHOWING SPEED AND FUEL / ROBOTIC ARM STEERING WHEEL MOVING TO DRIVER'S SIDE OF CAR
  • Embargoed: 19th March 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Switzerland
  • Country: Switzerland
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA9ZC7H9RJIRT12BA79QRBLREDA
  • Story Text: Swiss design and engineering company Rinspeed showed off their new concept car that has a mind of its own on Wednesday (March 4) at Geneva's International Motor Show.
    Described as a "friend on wheels", the aptly named Budii, which was created in partnership with infotainment giant Harman, features a robotic arm that controls its steering wheel and gives the driver back some of the autonomy that other self-driving cars can't.
    "What is special about the Budii is very obviously the robotic arm installed here. It's a symbol for the car changing to be a robotic car in the future, maybe in the next five to ten years. And this says theoretically you can drive in any position, so it can be left-hand drive or it can be right-hand drive. Or it can fold and the car will drive autonomously," said Christoph Reifenrath, Harman manager of technology marketing.
    The completely electric car, whose design is based on the BMW i3, has an advanced operating system that personalizes each driver's experience based on information gathered wirelessly through a user's smart phone. It knows your favourite music, your work address and even whom you call most often.
    While the thought of a car that knows more about its driver than the driver's own mother might be terrifying for some, Rinspeed CEO Frank Rinderknecht says he hopes Budii can set the pace for the future of automobiles and autonomous driving.
    "Well it's a new technology and we'll start to get used to it. It's like the Internet 20 years (ago), it was also a little bit scary. Today digital natives they don't know anything else but the Internet. So it's a matter of generations, of adaptation to be into that technology. And I'm sure that our grandchildren one day will say 'Wow grand-daddy, you had pilots, you had bus drivers, crazy! It's all done by machines now," Rinderknecht told Reuters Television.
    Proper communication by the car's operating system with its surroundings is key, Reifenrath says, to ensure safety and efficiency. The Budii is equipped with two main sensors and a camera that register any obstacles lying ahead of the car. The user can see the data collected by these sensors on a display screen between the two front seats.
    "If I touch this button, this is the picture you see at the moment: This is the camera picture and this is the leader picture, showing you the obstacles on the road. Here you have some bushes and you see they are all recognized. Even the small bumps on the road are recognized," Reifenrath said.
    The Budii will be on display at Geneva's International Motor Show for the show's duration, from March 5 through March 15.
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