TEXTILES.ORG
Dutch custom textile manufacturer ByBorre has developed the fabrics for BMW’s future interactive car interior. As presented at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, a concept car cabin module donned the BMW i Interaction EASE, the car company’s expression of the “mobility experience of the future.”
With a new car cabin concept comes an interactive interface designed for a future where autonomous driving is more commonplace. BYBORRE collaborated with BMW to create the seamless interactive tactile surface by developing custom textiles from the raw, sustainable yarn, up to custom colors and artwork. The cabin’s interior upholstery was turned into a tactile three-dimensional knitted surface interface. The embedded smart materials offer the passenger an integrated, naturally intuitive and interactive experience of control and demand over the car’s interior.
“If we no longer need to actively drive our car, we will naturally be able to use this time doing other things … opening up possibilities of work, rest, entertainment, and socialization. Depending on the wishes of the individual, the car’s interior surfaces will have to adapt,” says Borre Akkersdijk, founder of ByBorre.
“Within this project, ByBorre and [knitting machine manufacturer] Mayer & Cie. pushed the boundaries. New levels of color gradients were established, whilst the upholstery textiles were made suitable for layered technology interactions. The upholstery of the car is entirely interactive, our knits becoming the tactile interface of the car,” he added.