Can’t we all just get along" Not humans, that’ll seemingly never happen?but how about our stuff" Maybe in the future, all of our personally owned items will cooperate with us and with one another. Renault is continuing the expanding internet-of-things conversation at the Frankfurt auto show with its Symbioz concept, an autonomous and all-electric connected sedan that could also serve as a room in your house.
Going all in for its Frankfurt display, Renault built a sleek modern house to pair with the Symbioz concept. In the nature of green initiatives, the Symbioz runs on a purely electric powertrain. Two electric motors on the rear axle power the rear wheels, while the batteries store energy in the floor of the vehicle. Renault sees future electric vehicles as mobile energy-storage packs that could serve double duty for both the car and the house, an idea touted by numerous EV and fuel-cell concepts over the past two decades. As an example of how the two could mesh on one smart power grid, Renault says the Symbioz could temporarily power things in the house during peak energy hours or during a blackout.
The Symbioz is also intended to serve as an extension of the owner’s living space. The video below shows that the car can drive itself in and out of a house, park itself in a room to serve as a sort of isolated pod, or park next to the house to create an added room. The Symbioz has a retracting dashboard and seats that can swing around for...