Robocar 2057: 8 visions of the future

Car designers show off their ideas for the ultimate robot-controlled cars of the future in the Los Angeles Auto Show's 'Design Challenge' contest. By Peter Valdes-Dapena, CNNMoney.com staff writer

Honda 1⁴

Honda designers have come up with a clever way to get around "High Occupancy Vehcile" lane restrictions that they expect will still be around in 50 years.

The Honda 1⁴, or One to the Power of Four, is Honda's concept for a solar powered hybrid robotic vehicle. It would allow commuters to use restricted HOV lanes, but as the vehicle nears its final destination, it would transform into four smaller cars to take occupants to their final destinations.

Molecular engineering would allow the individual vehicles to reshape depending on whether they were separated or combined into one or two.

GM-OnStar ANT

General Motors has been actively researching continuous car-to-car data communication as a way of optimizing traffic flow and crash avoidance. GM's OnStar service provides a working basis for such a system.

The ANT would be the ultimate expression of this sort of technology. It would act independently but do so while in continuous communication with other vehicles around it.

Within the vehicle itself, different parts, including body panels and wheels, could act independently, as well, but in communication with one another.

This way, the ANT could change its shape to suit various needs. It could change from an aerodynamic speedster, for example, to a comfortable mobile office space.

Audi Virtuea Quattro

The Vitruea Quattro could be the ultimate custom car. It's envisioned as a single seat, robotically driven car with a holographic exterior.

Different virtual exteriors would be stored in an on-board database so the appearance of the car could be completely changed at any time. The exterior shown at the far left of the first picture mimics a pre-World War II race car by Auto Union, predecessor to the modern-day Audi.

Mercedes-Benz Silverflow

Mercedes-Benz's designers took a different approach to the maximally customizable exterior. Like Audi, Mercedes shows its vehicle in a body mimicking one of the company's pre-war racecars. (Those streamlined racers were often called the Silver Arrows.)

The Silverflow would be made of microscopic metallic particles that could be arranged in any shape using preselected computer models.

Any shape of car could be "built" at the touch of a handy key fob. Body damage could, of course, be instantly self-repaired. Parking would be no problem because the car could be instantly "melted" for easy storage in any handy container.

Mazda Motonari RX

This vehicle would be the ultimate expression of "Jinba Ittai," or "horse and rider as one," the philosophy Mazda says was behind the engineering of its small MX-5 sports car.

Named after Mori Motonari, a legendary Japanese warrior, the Motonari RX would, quite literally, integrate the driver with the vehicle. Instead of a steering wheel and pedals, the driver would be enveloped in a "haptic envelope" made up of millions of tiny electrical probes.

Electrical impulses would communicate information from the vehicle and the road through the driver's skin. Acceleration and direction would be controlled through armrest-mounted touch points. The driver could directly change the shape of the vehicle - for instance, to optimize cornering - by changing his own position inside it.

Nissan OneOne

The OneOne is envisioned as a sort of lovable pet vehicle. ("Won-won" is a common Japanese imitation for the sound of a barking dog.) Besides being cute, it would also be a helpful member of the family. On its own, it could go fetch some groceries or take a child to school.

The OneOne would move itself along like a skater by alternately pushing out with each of its rear wheels. At high speeds it would lean back for better aerodynamics, but at slower speeds it could "stand up" for better visibility.

Toyota Biomobile Mecha

As creator of the popular Prius hybrid car, Toyota has learned the public relations value of "green" products. The Biomobile Mecha would take things to another level in more ways than one.

Instead of adding pollution to the air, the Biomobile would use pollution as fuel in a process that, Toyota says, "restores balance to our atmosphere."

The Biomobile is designed for a future world in which scare real estate has pushed vertical design to extremes. That would include cars as well as buildings. The Biomobile could expand and contract in every dimension, enabling it to shrink to fit into tight spaces or expand to serve as a comfortable temporary dwelling.

Volkswagen’s SlipStream

Like a Segway scooter, the SlipStream drives while balancing on two wheels.

Around town, it could ride upright, but at higher speeds it would drop to a horizontal position to take advantage of its aerodynamic shape. Its bottle-neck tail section would then be held up by a pair of extendable wings, allowing speeds of up to 250 miles per hour.

Power would come from the SlipStream's skin, made from super-efficient solar panels.