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How A Future Office and Delivery Service Could Drive Itself To You

  • Dubbed "mules" by IDEO, delivery vans would wait at a prescribed location, and you would take delivery of your package/groceries/hot meal with a biometric ID.
    1/17

    IDEO Automobility

    Dubbed "mules" by IDEO, delivery vans would wait at a prescribed location, and you would take delivery of your package/groceries/hot meal with a biometric ID.
  • Self-driving delivery vehicles would maximize volume, although cooling might be an issue here.
    2/17

    IDEO Automobility

    Self-driving delivery vehicles would maximize volume, although cooling might be an issue here.
  • The delivery mules would broadcast their location for people wanting to drop off packages — and monitor traffic to depart before streets grew busy.
    3/17

    IDEO Automobility

    The delivery mules would broadcast their location for people wanting to drop off packages — and monitor traffic to depart before streets grew busy.
  • The delivery mule would robotically move its packages to maximize efficiency.
    4/17

    IDEO Automobility

    The delivery mule would robotically move its packages to maximize efficiency.
  • Delivery mules would reside in a central depot — with self-recharging capability.
    5/17

    IDEO Automobility

    Delivery mules would reside in a central depot — with self-recharging capability.
  • Instead of working from home, IDEO sees established autonomous technology bringing the office closer to where people live — literally a workspace on wheels, with table-sized desks and work chairs instead of traditional car seats.
    6/17

    IDEO Automobility

    Instead of working from home, IDEO sees established autonomous technology bringing the office closer to where people live — literally a workspace on wheels, with table-sized desks and work chairs instead of traditional car seats.
  • Chairs in the IDEO workspace would be magnetically attached to the floor for travel. (Seat belts were apparently not part of the design brief.)
    7/17

    IDEO Automobility

    Chairs in the IDEO workspace would be magnetically attached to the floor for travel. (Seat belts were apparently not part of the design brief.)
  • IDEO envisions the traveling offices gathering in "underutilized" urban locations to take advantage of parking and utilities. (And, one would assume, restrooms).
    8/17

    IDEO Automobility

    IDEO envisions the traveling offices gathering in "underutilized" urban locations to take advantage of parking and utilities. (And, one would assume, restrooms).
  • The interior of the self-driving office concept by IDEO.
    9/17

    IDEO Automobility

    The interior of the self-driving office concept by IDEO.
  • The mobile office could also take advantage of more scenic locales, and has an awning for outdoor activities.
    10/17

    IDEO Automobility

    The mobile office could also take advantage of more scenic locales, and has an awning for outdoor activities.
  • Why the food truck in this near-future demonstration wouldn't also be self-driving isn't clear, but whether driven by computer or human, it would go to the mobile office.
    11/17

    IDEO Automobility

    Why the food truck in this near-future demonstration wouldn't also be self-driving isn't clear, but whether driven by computer or human, it would go to the mobile office.
  • The self-driving car of the future won't necessarily reduce congestion on the roads – but instead, says IDEO, will make the commute more usable.
    12/17

    IDEO Automobility

    The self-driving car of the future won't necessarily reduce congestion on the roads – but instead, says IDEO, will make the commute more usable.
  • All of the IDEO vehicles are electrically driven for greenhouse-gas reductions.
    13/17

    IDEO Automobility

    All of the IDEO vehicles are electrically driven for greenhouse-gas reductions.
  • The dashboard of the self-driving car, in IDEO's vision, needs no ornament.
    14/17

    IDEO Automobility

    The dashboard of the self-driving car, in IDEO's vision, needs no ornament.
  • As with most self-driving cars, the IDEO Automobility vehicle would be legal and safe enough to allow a driver to pay attention to something beside the road.
    15/17

    IDEO Automobility

    As with most self-driving cars, the IDEO Automobility vehicle would be legal and safe enough to allow a driver to pay attention to something beside the road.
  • The real question in self-driving cars becomes just how much attention can the driver spare. IDEO sees the answer as all of it, to focus on work or pleasure.
    16/17

    IDEO Automobility

    The real question in self-driving cars becomes just how much attention can the driver spare. IDEO sees the answer as all of it, to focus on work or pleasure.
  • To show visually that guided cars are linked, IDEO imagines them projecting colors ahead and behind them.
    17/17

    IDEO Automobility

    To show visually that guided cars are linked, IDEO imagines them projecting colors ahead and behind them.
Dubbed "mules" by IDEO, delivery vans would wait at a prescribed location, and you would take delivery of your package/groceries/hot meal with a biometric ID.
Self-driving delivery vehicles would maximize volume, although cooling might be an issue here.
The delivery mules would broadcast their location for people wanting to drop off packages — and monitor traffic to depart before streets grew busy.
The delivery mule would robotically move its packages to maximize efficiency.
Delivery mules would reside in a central depot — with self-recharging capability.
Instead of working from home, IDEO sees established autonomous technology bringing the office closer to where people live — literally a workspace on wheels, with table-sized desks and work chairs instead of traditional car seats.
Chairs in the IDEO workspace would be magnetically attached to the floor for travel. (Seat belts were apparently not part of the design brief.)
IDEO envisions the traveling offices gathering in "underutilized" urban locations to take advantage of parking and utilities. (And, one would assume, restrooms).
The interior of the self-driving office concept by IDEO.
The mobile office could also take advantage of more scenic locales, and has an awning for outdoor activities.
Why the food truck in this near-future demonstration wouldn't also be self-driving isn't clear, but whether driven by computer or human, it would go to the mobile office.
The self-driving car of the future won't necessarily reduce congestion on the roads – but instead, says IDEO, will make the commute more usable.
All of the IDEO vehicles are electrically driven for greenhouse-gas reductions.
The dashboard of the self-driving car, in IDEO's vision, needs no ornament.
As with most self-driving cars, the IDEO Automobility vehicle would be legal and safe enough to allow a driver to pay attention to something beside the road.
The real question in self-driving cars becomes just how much attention can the driver spare. IDEO sees the answer as all of it, to focus on work or pleasure.
To show visually that guided cars are linked, IDEO imagines them projecting colors ahead and behind them.
Yahoo Autos

For as much as engineerss and technologists talk about self-driving cars, such devices remain future abstractions or occasionally proof-of-concept test cars. For its Automobility project, global design firm IDEO sought to answer the question of how daily life might change if, in 15 years from now, self-driving vehicles were not just perfected but in everyday use.

The results go far beyond the now common idea of reading while "driving" to embrace more experimental ideas — from delivery vehicles that drive themselves to you, to mobile offices on wheels that would give new meaning to the phrase "reverse commute." The concept, says IDEO, is that while technology will advance rapidly, " that humans will still need to sleep, to eat, to work, and to move from place to place."
See the examples here.