Five ideas for the car of the future
Social media analysis – soon we will probably no longer be driving our cars ourselves. What does it do to the fun of driving – to the feeling of being in control of one’s life for that moment?? Image scientist simon bieling took a look at instagram to find out how we define the joy of driving today and used the results to develop five theses on the future of the car.
We consider individual mobility, the ability to move independently and freely, to be a high good. This hasn’t changed since walt disney celebrated cars as perfect tools for the individual pursuit of happiness fifty years ago. But why do we like to drive? Because we feel like the authors of our lives behind the wheel. Psychology calls this self-efficacy: the ability to realize goals oneself. This is why we are so moved by the prospect of self-driving cars taking the steering wheel out of our hands in the not too distant future.
"it’s in my hands" – pictures like this could soon be a thing of the past. September 2017, instagram
Even today’s cars are, by their very name, vehicles that move as if by themselves – always in comparison to other vehicles. At the beginning of the history of the automobile, people felt self-efficient at the steering wheel because the car moved without a driver or horse and, unlike the bicycle, without the use of muscular power. Today, it’s more about the differences between individual car models that matter. Our own vehicle gives us the impression of active self-efficacy because it offers a more comfortable driving experience, higher speeds, greater safety or lower fuel consumption compared to another vehicle. From this perspective, autonomous driving represents just another stage in automotive history. So what do self-driving cars have to offer so that we still feel independent and self-efficient in them??
Even when essential everyday actions are automated, we as agents still want to play a role. A random analysis on instagram shows which aspects of driving users particularly emphasize – and when they feel self-efficacious.
1. New tasks for the steering wheel
the steering wheel may lose its actual function, but this is where it becomes clear who and what is driving. Instagram, september 2017
People who have a new car or are going on vacation like to take pictures of themselves behind the wheel. But do we need the steering wheel at all if we no longer steer our cars ourselves?? Perhaps in the future, the steering wheel will shine in secondary roles: as a stage for watches, jewelry and nail polish, or as a companion scene for energy drinks or coffee. Many passengers will achieve self-efficacy in the future if the driverless cars can offer them a presentation platform; if they can also prove their creative power in fashionable matters or drink moments to themselves and others in externally controlled automobiles.
2. Beautiful views for passengers
soon with 360° panorama? expanse and sky instead of tunnel vision. Instagram, september 2017
The fact that the steering wheel is expanding its function and meaning does not make driving itself insignificant. The view from the car is still an important factor in making our own driving performance tangible. The landscape that we pass through or finally reach during the journey is important evidence of our own self-efficacy: an attractive counter-image to our everyday environment. The office of architect jean nouvel has planned a row of windows for the culture and congress center in lucerne in such a way that visitors can see almost picture-like perspectives of Lake geneva. In autonomous vehicles, the design of the windows and the position of the driving seats could also focus on attractive viewing perspectives for the passengers.
3. Driving performance becomes measurable
new milestones: tracking systems already offer more than kilometers – such as green score games that encourage environmentally conscious driving. Instagram, september 2017
numbers are becoming increasingly important as carriers of values and ideals. For many drivers, they prove their own driving performance. Speedometers are a popular motif despite all the navis. Anyone who has clocked up a round number of kilometers or wants to say a final goodbye to their car likes to post a glance at the odometer display. The larger the number, the stronger the feeling of self-efficacy seems to be. So the driverless cars of the future shouldn’t overlook the persuasive power of numbers in screen displays and navigation interfaces. Because people like to show off their automotive willpower in the same way that particularly disciplined runners show off their training successes: with memorable mileage figures.
4. Humanized cars
hand-selfies soon in front of a more atmospheric background? Instagram, september 2017
A major study on autonomous driving made a strong case for the hypothesis that we more willingly trust the driving performance of artificial intelligences when we attribute human characteristics to them. Cars are already being humanized quite often. If you see your car as a personal companion that is always at your service, you can also feel self-efficacious and powerful. Because it directly connects the performance of the vehicle with one’s own person. The car then drives and brakes exclusively according to the individual wishes of its owners. this strategy can be extended even further if we also make the automobile one of the places where we form private relationships with other people, where couples, friends, parents and children show off their connection and cultivation of relationships.
The technoid machine look of vehicles could give way to a more human, perhaps homely design, so that socializing or togetherness in the car can take place in an atmospheric environment. After all, the gearshift is not the most romantic background for holding hands..
5. Moving together
in the car of the future, a new seat layout could help create social moments. Instagram, september 2017
The orientation of seating could finally bring all occupants together: so that couples, friends, mother and son look at each other directly, not just via the interior rearview mirror. For in recent group selfies from cars, it is noticeable that car seats tend to separate the occupants of the vehicle rather than bring them closer together.
In a driverless vehicle, we don’t necessarily have to sacrifice our automotive self-efficacy. The self-driving car could become a place where we experience our self-efficacy more diversely than before. It is to be hoped that the interior design will provide a suitable backdrop for fashionable accessories and clothing, that the windows of the car will refine the view of the landscape, and that the seating will promote a variety of social moments among familiar people. And for number lovers, there are many other calculations, statistics and evaluations besides the number of kilometers driven that make their own driving performance quantitatively tangible. In this way, the car could become, bit by bit, a place where we constantly rethink our idea of self-efficacy.
Author: simon
Simon mostly moves around the city on two wheels, so he often wonders if self-driving bikes will be around in the near future. He is a freelance author and lives in karlsruhe, Germany. next spring, his dissertation, one of the first cultural studies on the new imagery of consumption in social media, will be published.