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Auto shows aren't really complete without concept cars.
And at the 2019 Shanghai Auto Show, Audi have dutifully obliged with this.
The Amy.
Amy forms parts of a future that Audi and visions where instead of owning a car, you subscribe to mobility service where the right car for your current need is autonomously driven to you to get you where you're going.
We previously seen the icon concept A few years ago, which showed the vast living room on wheels in a level five autonomous vehicle designed for long distance commuting.
But Amy here is for urban driving environments getting you to and from work in the mega cities of tomorrow.
The exterior of the car is designed with keeping as much space on the inside as possible but widest part of the car is unusually much higher up giving your shoulders and your hands much space to breathe.
In spite of the low slight ceiling it will create more space on the inside.
Its also going to touch with the legs at the front and the back we would expect to find them, there is light over the layer front reratch These are just there to communicate to other people what this car is doing.
It can also communicate to other road users what's happening around them.
For example a cyclist part here could be warn about incoming traffic.
Or a pedestrian crossing behind the car could be told it's safe to do so This car isn't just designed to relive in its own world.
It's designed to be part of a network where the car is helping it's self and the traffic around it to be safer.
There is a lot of glass on show as well not just in it's big side windows but all across the roof.
We can see this great with terracing with actual plans on the inside.
On the interior, the EMI has been designed to immediately give passengers a sense of calm.
The materials have been carefully selected to be pleasant to the touch and function with touch controls built into the doors.
Sustainable Is also important, with plastics being shunned in favor of more environmentally friendly materials.
The carpets, for example, have been made from the nylon of discarded fishing nets that have been recovered from the ocean, but feel wonderfully soft.
The textile material in the doors and the seats is made with wool.
Not only to give a great tactile sensation, but to help regular your body temperature more effectively than heated or cooled seats.
The color has also been meticulously picked.
From all the color options available, Audi has selected, through rigorous research, a color that gives you the most immediate and effective sense of calm.
Apparently that's beige.
Who knew?
This is a level four autonomous vehicle.
So there is going to be times where you're going to want to drive it yourself.
There's a steering wheel and pedals which can come forward and meet the driver but When they're not needed they can retract giving you this table space which you can use as a desk, or somewhere to eat.
And the freedom is there it doesn't prescribe to you what you want to do with it.
But it gives you the options to treat this like you would your front room.
The furniture here is for you to use.
And if you're not driving the space to move around The backseat as well is more of a bench, there's a sense of movement within the car, even though you will be strapped in, obviously still for safety, even in an autonomous driving circumstance.
But the idea of being in a space in here to move around, the entertainment system is not too imposing either.
Rather than big screens focused upfront with everyone's eyes focused in on one place Audi does envisage you using VR instead where you have your own personal space to really take yourself away from the driving environment.
In fact that's everything that this car tries to do.
It's an urban car trying to separate you from the city around you and everything about this car is meant to cocoon you inside.
The speaker system is also intended to have noise cancellation built in.
So you can genuinely be in your own bubble of seclusion.
The screen that stretches completely from side to side replaces your infotainment system and eye trackers built into the table here allow you to control the menu system and guide yourself through the options that you might want to select.
It has this great double depth screen appearance to it which feels like its completely integrated into the car, yet there for you when you need it.
I always vision that the future is one where we don't own our cars.
Its one where we share our cars with the people around us.
And that we pick the car for the Purpose that we're about to use it for.
It's hard to say when that future will be upon us but it's clear that Audi isn't waiting around for it to happen, they're getting prepared.
