Cadillac introduces a personal self-driving car with the Halo InnerSpace concept.
What will the cars of the future look like when you no longer have to drive? Cadillac is exploring this with its Halo InnerSpace concept car, which was virtually unveiled Wednesday at the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
InnerSpace is the third in Cadillac's series of fully autonomous concepts. The first two were unveiled at last year's CES and include a human-sized drone (PersonalSpace) and a shuttle for urban environments (SocialSpace); a fourth Halo concept, OpenSpace, will be revealed at a later date.
InnerSpace is a kind of personally owned self-driving car imagined by Cadillac. It is an odd design for a self-driving car, as it is a two-seat electric vehicle, which severely limits its utility. Rear storage also does not appear to be very large compared to the size of the vehicle.
Inside, the typical dashboard has been replaced by a large screen that allows occupants to watch their favorite shows or movies instead of enjoying the surrounding scenery. The seating position is very low, which would normally make getting in and out difficult, but the designers cut out a section of the floor, so getting in and out is similar to sitting in or getting up from a seat.
General Motors' recently announced Ultifi software platform drives the car's various software functions and supports wireless updates. Cadillac did not mention specific software features, but stated that occupants can interact with the vehicle using AI-powered biometric inputs and interfaces.
To what extent will cars like Innerspace become a reality? While self-driving cars that rival humans may still be a decade or more away, automakers are gearing up to launch the first cars that can respond to some situations without driver supervision. In other words, a true hands-off, eyes-off automated driving system.
Volvo unveiled RidePilot at CES. Volvo will first offer Ride Pilot in California and will begin testing the system on the state's roads this summer. A new Chinese EV brand, Zeekr, also announced this week that it plans to develop a true self-driving system with Mobileye and offer it by 2024.
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