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When I saw the “Soulmate” for the first time on December 10, 2015, those responsible were milling around the vehicle with dark circles under their eyes. The date for transport cannot be postponed, “Soulmate” must arrive in Las Vegas on time, He will be the star at the BOSCH stand.
A look into the future with EDAG and the Soulmate
How will we drive a car in the future? Will we even drive ourselves? And if the car drives us, what do we do in the meantime? Autonomous parking? The networking of the automobile with home and our smart devices. The car will still be an elementary element in the question of personal mobility 100 years from now. It is all the more important to set the right course for development in, on, and around the vehicle.
Progress made in Wiesbaden
Anyone who wants to take a look beyond the glossy brochures of automobile manufacturers towards the future must turn their eyes to the supplier industry. This is where we develop what will be part of everyday life in cars in 10 years. EDAG Engineering GmbH is a German company based in Wiesbaden, Hesse and, together with its partner BOSCH, has realized a vision for the car of tomorrow. The two-seater roadster, christened “Soulmate” by EDAG, will have its premiere at the CES 2016 in Las Vegas.
Premiere in the desert
Almost a month before the official premiere, I experienced the final work steps on the “Soulmate” at the EDAG factory in Fulda. Code-secured doors, darkened windows and digital cameras and smartphones checked at the entrance. What is developed here is often still top secret. Only when the Benz, BMW and Volkswagen of this world adopt the ideas into the production vehicle can they be made an issue. Before? Shhh! top secret!
The Soulmate is based on the Cocoon from EDAG. The task of the Cocoon was still to draw attention to lightweight construction. With the focus on the realization of “bionicle” design and 3D printing, partner BOSCH has now filled this two-seater with new life.
Premiere before the premiere
A few weeks before the Soulmate in the Nevada desert, between slot machines and Starbucks coffee on the Consumer Electronics Show 2016 As the main attraction at the BOSCH booth, the door secured with code cards opens for me. A first look at the ideas from BOSCH and EDAG. Two global players in the automotive industry. If you miss a detail here, you will experience a surprise from the brochures of the OEMs in 10 years. So watch out. Together with the project manager Dr. I approach Cordes with the show car named EDM Soulmate. Just don't break anything, I remind myself silently in the back of my mind. Open cables, one of the curved, high-resolution displays is being replaced. You can feel the tension.
Take a seat in the future
BOSCH has chosen that Concept vehicle 11 “scenarios” presentedhow in the future the automobile will become a “best friend”, a “soulmate”. The 11 ideas are part of what will come to us in the future and, not coincidentally, also work areas of the entire BOSCH Group and not just its automotive division. Three ideas particularly excited me:
The car as a phone booth
It's really nothing new, you think. But how about your doorbell calling because the courier is just outside the door? One finger and quick, you have the picture of your front door on one of the large displays. You can now speak to the courier and open the intermediate door if necessary. It would be the end of these senseless notices in the mailbox, on which something as clever as: We'll be back tomorrow, at the same time. So when you are back in the office. The networking of smartphones, from the smart home to the smart car. Convergence as a keyword for this development.
Haptic displays
A new product for which BOSCH has already received an award is the haptic feedback displays. The CES visitor was able to get a first impression on demo devices. The feedback is different than usual, it gives the impression of a texture, a surface and can therefore give more than just “pressed” or “not pressed” as feedback! Exciting!
Autonomous driving
Of course, autonomous driving is part of the “Soulmate” vision. BOSCH’s idea shows the idea of the “self-parking” car. Or a car that drives to the workshop alone to have the necessary service work carried out.
The premiere in Las Vegas
However, until the time came, around 35 employees at EDAG worked on the project. The idea of the “Cocoon” was further developed, Jack Wolfskin once again provided the “outer skin” of the “Soulmate”. And the other partners in the project also got involved. The tension was palpable that morning in Fulda.
It is these moments in the life of the auto blogger that make you feel like you are now seeing the future emerge. Not in the shiny exhibition halls of the automobile manufacturers, no. The future starts much earlier. In darkened rooms of technology companies such as Bosch or EDAG and there are people with dark circles who work 20 hours a day, make solder joints themselves, develop prototypes and help shape the world of tomorrow.
