Volvo’s 360c autonomous concept car is for sleeping, working, relaxing

Volvo has hinted for a few weeks at what its 360c concept car might include, such as autonomous communication tools using colorful exterior lights, in-car coffee making, and a quiet ride (read: electric).

But what Volvo revealed on Wednesday morning at an unveiling event in Sweden opens up many possibilities for the Swedish company as it moves to position itself as a car brand for the future. 

First of all, the 360c is indeed a fully autonomous, electric vehicle, just not the usual buy-on-site-and-drive-off-the-dealership type of car. Volvo sees the 360c as something businesses buy in groups and offer to their employees or clients as perks: automated, door-to-door travel with a plethora of amenities. It won’t even have a steering wheel, because Volvo is designing this car to meet the highest level of autonomy, Level 5: completely computer-controlled in all environments and situations.

To accomplish these goals, Volvo has introduced a new “language” of exterior lights to communicate with others on the road through sounds, colors, and other visual elements, which is a similar idea to the somewhat creepy “eyes” that Jaguar has tested on driverless shuttles in the UK.

And the 360c isn’t Volvo’s first self-driving concept. The Concept 26, while made with autonomous technology, still has a driving option, and the 360c will always be a driverless experience.

The 360c also represents Volvo’s hypothesis of how we might rely on autonomous vehicles in the years to come (besides getting from point A to B): sleeping, working, relaxing, partying, traveling, commuting — all of these can be improved by a driverless shuttle system, according to Volvo’s view of the future. The mysterious coffee video Volvo posted on its Facebook page shows how the car can become a new space altogether — whether it’s for powering up a laptop or relaxing after a stressful meeting with a fresh cup of coffee.

With the 360c, Volvo wants compete with the air travel industry, especially when it comes to short-haul flights. Instead of flying from, say, Los Angeles to San Diego, with its intrinsic hassle-filled airport experience, Volvo instead wants to turn that 125-mile road trip into a battery-powered productive and restful excursion.

The new vehicles also open up the question of more suburban sprawl: If commutes become productive work stations-slash-zen dens, will people opt to live farther way from city centers?

While this is admittedly not much more than a conversation starter, it shows that Volvo seems certain that autonomous vehicles will be a key component in our future societies — and it clearly wants to lead the charge.