Sleek use of plastics add function, polish to JCI concept

DETROIT — When the next generation of vehicle owners takes the driver's seat, they'll do a lot more than drive. That's the idea behind Johnson Controls Inc's new automotive interior concept.

The Tier 1 automotive supplier unveiled its Innovation Demonstrator (ID15) at the 2015 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Designed for near-future autonomous capabilities, where an occupant spends only a portion of his time in the vehicle actually driving, the concept features a steering wheel that recedes into the dash when not in use and front seat backs that pivot 18 degrees to ease interaction among occupants while in autonomous mode.

Rounding out JCI's vision for the future are new storage options, luxury design details and a variety of smart materials.

Taking direction from an international study that identified increased storage as a top issue for consumers, JCI created several function-specific storage solutions for its concept. The ID15 includes a stowage space for large handbags, a sliding tray in the glove box for mobile devices and a sliding, insulated cool box for beverages underneath the center console. The new storage options were based on the idea of allowing occupants to engage in activities beyond driving, said Han Hendriks, vice president of advanced product development and sales at Johnson Controls Automotive Interiors.

“With autonomous [vehicles], storage becomes even more important, because now the driver in a 40 minute commute has 30 minutes to engage in other activities,” he told Plastics News.

Instead of hinged covers for storage spaces, the concept's door panels and center console incorporate tambour doors, which are a more cost-effective option and also save space, Hendriks added. A basic version of JCI's tambour door system is already in production in the Toyota Highlander.

Hendriks has spoken frequently about JCI's intent to move away from static plastic surfaces in favor of smart materials that provide a second function like lighting, as seen in the ID15's dashboard LED light strip, or heating for chilly days. This is particularly visible in the ID15's user interface, which relies on seamless, piano black ABS surfaces with integrated controls.

As an alternative to a traditional button or switch, the flat surface responds to a user's touch with the simulated sensation of a button click. The plastic surfaces also have an antimicrobial coating that JCI says is production-ready.

Hendriks sees integrated controls as an opportunity to further reduce complexity and weight.

“Where today we package [printed circuit boards], in the future the integration of the surface with the electronics will be seamless, will be inseparable,” he said.

The leather surface of the ID15's dash features a raised wave pattern that is continued on the concept's door panels, a look JCI calls sculpted leather. The leather surface is back-injected with polypropylene in a process JCI created as a more cost-effective alternative to hand-wrapped parts.

Oliver Becker, director of advanced manufacturing for JCI's North America Automotive Experience business, described the process:

“What people have been doing in the past is just taking leather as it comes from the tanner, put it into injection molding machine and mold behind it. But then leather loses its grain, and also it has a color differentiation; it's lighter. And that didn't work. So we have developed a unique technology where we take leather out of the tanning process at an earlier point in time and take this leather … and put this into an injection molding machine and mold behind it. And we are therefore able to really let the leather conform to the shape of the cavity, and also apply the grain during this injection molding process, and then later on in a separate step, the leather gets painted. The final product looks just like a leather-wrapped product, but it has more design freedom in regard to really concave and convex shapes.”

The part is an example of enhancing the value of a plastic, Hendriks said; though the plastic is not visible, the part is only made possible by integrating the two materials.

While some autonomous vehicle concepts have been designed with an eye on the distant future, JCI designed its interior concept to be realistic a bit sooner, Hendriks said:

“[Our concept] is next-generation, 2020. This is what you're going to see, this is how the interior starts to show evidence that the world is changing.”