Renault’s 2030 Vision: SYMBIOZ

Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!

---

Renault is further electrifying cars, vans, trucks, and entire fleets. It is entering regions few companies bring their electric cars to. It plans to have 8 fully electric vehicles on the market by 2022 and 12 electrified models. It has also given us a more idealistic visualization of an electric future, one for 2030. Renault recently shared its innovative vision of the electric ecosystems — the SYMBIOZ. It is an integrated house and car that work together in harmony. The home and car will essentially share their energy.

The way we use cars is changing and the way we generate and use energy is changing. Danny Parker, a zero footprint hero and energy researcher, set an example for all of us long before 2030. He used his Chevy Volt to power his appliances after one of Florida’s hurricanes. Renault envisions this capability becoming the norm, not just a solution for tech wizards.

As with Margot Robbie highlighting the coming infrastructure of connectivity and the electric ecosystem of Nissan, Renault’s Symbioz is prepping us for the future. “SYMBIOZ extends the vision of autonomous, electric and connected cars to a time when vehicles fully interact with connected homes, cities, other vehicles and road infrastructure and become even more personal in the travel, energy and entertainment preferences of people who use them,” Renault writes.

“Kilowatt-hours are distributed through a smart grid shared by the car and the home in an artificial intelligence environment that anticipates people’s needs. For example, it’s possible to programme the system to use the power stored in the car batteries temporarily for the lights, screens and home appliances during peak times. If there is a blackout, this happens automatically, and power sharing can be monitored and adjusted.”

Surprisingly, Renault pointed out that a concept car associated with a connected home was “unprecedented” at a motor show before SYMBIOZ was shown this year in Frankfurt. “SYMBIOZ demonstrates dynamic scenarios where the car is put to use in different places within and around the home and while traveling. … Looking to 2030 we imagine new scenarios with more efficient energy use, connectivity and autonomous driving scenarios that will improve how we live and travel,” said Groupe Renault Executive Vice President and Chief Competitive Officer Thierry Bolloré.

A demo car based on the SYMBIOZ concept was available for test driving at the end of 2017, and presumably throughout 2018. “This includes an evolved version of the MULTI-SENSE technology, which adapts the ambiance and driving experience to customer mood in the Mégane, Scénic, Talisman, and Espace in our current range.

“The demo car will also showcase features from the ‘EASY CONNECT’, new-generation mobility and connected services solutions, and it will preview the Renault Autonomous drive technology that will be progressively deployed in the range under the name ‘EASY DRIVE’.”

The demo version of SYMBIOZ was made in partnership with technology and creative industry leaders in an “open innovation” approach:

• LG is involved in the development of the human-machine interfaces.
• Ubisoft is providing onboard virtual reality experience for an autonomous driving mode.
• Devialet is developing a new user experience through the advanced sound system.
• Sanef is working on the way the car communicates with road network infrastructure. TomTom is contributing its geo-positioning expertise.
• IAV is providing autonomous driving engineering expertise.

Here’s a bit more on that virtual reality experience, from Renault:

• Put the helmet and change your vision! A virtual reality headset can be worn to enable the driver or its passengers to go on a virtual journey. It begins with a realistic real-time representation of the car and road before taking them to more abstract and surreal places.
• To interact with the real-life environment, the system uses data from the car, such as speed, trajectory, and position on the road and other cars detected nearby by AD sensors.
  • This provides a link between what the driver can see when they look through the virtual reality headset and what their body actually feels so they do not suffer from motion sickness.
  • It also heightens the immersive environment and the feeling of getting away from it all, while delivering a unique experience specific to each journey.

James Ayre of CleanTechnica earlier introduced this concept and commented, “While I’m fairly skeptical that Renault will actually release a production car that is similar to the SYMBIOZ demo car, you have to admit that the thing stands out. What I’d be more interested in seeing, though, is longer range versions of popular offerings such as the Zoe or the Kangoo ZE (which will no doubt be arriving in the next few years or so).”

Related Stories:

Margot Robbie Talks Nissan Electric Ecosystem

The Car & Beyond: 4 Pillars Of Nissan Future Electric Ecosystem