Yanfeng Automotive Interiors (YFAI), a joint venture between Yanfeng and Adient, is a pioneer in the development of new materials for vehicle interiors. With its activeSkin concept, for example, the company presents a vision of integrating intuitive controls into vehicle interiors, which blur the boundaries between the digital and analogue worlds. This new development concept enables the display of data on soft surfaces. YFAI expects that functional and decorative surfaces in vehicle interiors will increasingly merge in the future. To find out more about this trend and other innovations, we spoke to Volkhard Wick, Executive Director, Innovation and Product Management Europe & South Africa at YFAI.
Could you give us an update of how YFAI is creating function to car interior surfaces?
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We have expertise in the integration of technologies into all kinds of surfaces, whether plastic and natural fibres, or authentic surfaces e.g. wood, glass, leather, or metal decorative surfaces.
The integration of functions is extended to include textile surfaces. We include intuitive controls into vehicle interiors, which blur the boundaries between the digital and analogue worlds.
Our new development concept activeSkin enables data to be displayed on soft surfaces. Increasingly, functional and decorative surfaces in vehicle interiors will merge in the future. The special feature of this new technology is that soft, textile-covered surfaces are now able to interact with vehicle passengers and display visual information. As a result, surfaces which previously only had a decorative function will become touch-sensitive control surfaces in the interiors of future vehicles. But we also offer a solution for hard surfaces, e.g. for glass, with our jointly developed Yanfeng-KOSTAL module that is integrated in a floor console. The freely designable 3D glass surfaces seamlessly combined with new HMI technologies enable innovative operating concepts to be implemented into sophisticated designs for tomorrow's mobility.
Heated and cooled seats are commonplace. But in the larger autonomous car interior, do you see changes in the way in which the cabin and surfaces are heated?
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By GlobalDataPanel heating systems are not only extremely comfortable but also highly energy efficient.
We have already integrated heated door panel armrest solutions in our concept car XiM18 that enhance the comfort inside the vehicle. Even with the heat on full power, you can still feel uncomfortable in the car – especially on cold winter days. The cold air outside and inside the vehicle leave us shivering when getting into the car, even when wearing a warm jacket. The heated armrest uses a panel heating technology system. Panel heating systems are not only extremely comfortable, but also highly energy efficient. The heat they produce reaches passengers more directly and quickly than the heat emitted by conventional vehicle HVAC systems. As a result, the driver can lower the temperature coming from the HVAC system when using the heated armrest. This heated armrest, which is also available for the floor console, is ready for series production.
As we understand it, a major focus of car interiors today is about creating a new user experience for the self-driving car. Could you give us an example of how you are achieving that?
Every surface inside the vehicle will become a smart surface.
We think that, in the future, every surface inside the vehicle will become a smart surface. The large decorative surfaces in the vehicle, including the door trim, floor console and instrument panel, will take on functions as smart interior surfaces. Whereas to date these surfaces have been mainly decorative, they now advance to become mechatronic user interfaces. Increasingly, we will integrate functionality that creates a better life on board your vehicle. We're seamlessly integrating information and areas for controls, ambient and task lighting, heated surfaces, and more. When these functions are not activated, our smart interior surfaces blend in with the stylish decor of our floor consoles, instrument- and door panels. This is the future and our concepts will help prepare automakers to be ready for it when it arrives.
I imagine new features will have to accommodate new occupant behaviours. So what sort of technology can we expect to see in tomorrow's car?
Vehicle interior solutions will have to respond to future forms of mobility and connectivity needs.
Vehicle interior solutions will have to respond to future forms of mobility and connectivity needs. For instance, car users expect the same functionality inside their cars that they are used to obtaining from their mobile devices. This means, in future, we expect that digital content of personal apps, online profiles or personal devices will be synchronised immediately on entering the vehicle. Applications, images or lighting effects will be available to the driver – ultimately everything that supports their lifestyle and personal needs and that can produce an individual interior experience. In our activeSkin concept development, the integration of functions is extended to include textile surfaces and we make the interior into the Next Living Space. Even in level 3 to level 4 autonomous vehicles, a wide range of options is available. What was recently merely a vision for the future could become part of our mobile reality by 2022.
We believe that YFAI is using natural fibres in its latest interior designs. Could you tell us a little more about that?
In our latest concept car XiM18, we used the CHyM Eco-Lite technology which is not only integrated in the door panels, but also for the first time applicable for instrument panel production. Our CHyM Eco-Lite is a lightweight wrapping solution. CHyM (compression hybrid moulding) is based on a lightweight support structure which replaces the plastic substrate with a lightweight natural fibre mat, lowering the weight of the support structure alone by 20 per cent compared with conventional parts. We presented an instrument panel manufactured entirely using the CHyM process for the first time at the IAA last year. Around half of the material used consists of renewable fibres, such as hemp, flax and kenaf.
Our CHyM technology can reduce the weight in door panels by around 40 per cent and the mass in instrument panels by another 20 per cent. Other panels, such as the side panels of the centre console, could also conceivably be produced as lightweight elements using the CHyM process. We showcased a scale model of our "eXperience in Motion" (XiM18) at the IAA, illustrating the weight savings theoretically achievable in a compact crossover when CHyM is used for all suitable parts. This design approach can reduce the weight in the vehicle interior by over three kilogrammes.
A new decorative trend is to combine the visible natural fibre decor with modern design.
A new decorative trend is to combine the visible natural fibre decor with modern design. We have developed a technology that makes visible natural fibres an attractive choice: customised or tasteful decorative surfaces of visible natural fibres for door panels that offer a great deal of flexibility in the design process. There are no limits in series production to the degree of personalisation and differentiation, with the automaker free to select the lightweight natural fibre surfaces of its choice. We show the recyclable, artistically styled, natural fibre centre sections of the door panel in both a natural look and trendy designs. With these solutions you also appreciate the visible quality of the fibre finish, the visual impression of the design and a pleasurable feel when you run your hand across them.
What does the trend for shared mobility mean for YFAI in terms of its products, technologies and manufacturing?
Indeed the trend towards shared mobility and autonomous driving are fuelling our development process. We take the proactive step of proposing specific interior designs in order to support our customers in managing this growing complexity. We create adaptive interiors and smart interior surfaces that we have already integrated in our latest concept car XiM18. We are seeing very significant effects with regard to the instrument panel and the floor console in electrically powered vehicles, such as through the elimination of the gear knob in the centre console. In addition, we are also seeing smaller lot sizes for each parts version.
Furthermore, all the future expected individualisation and personalisation of the vehicle interiors will have an impact on our manufacturing processes and capacities. In our case, the increasing differentiation of vehicle interior design is also reflected in a higher degree of manufacturing complexity and greater logistical issues. We need to be very flexible in order to manage the different requirements and quantities also in our production lines from the unique single individualised product to mass production. We are continuously transforming our company in the direction of "low-volume, high-mix" production.
Taking car sharing to the next stage and merging it with the prospect of self-driving cars, what are the implications for interior design, choice of fabric, functionality/features?
Alternative motive power concepts and mobility services, technical progress and social change – driven by the dynamics of digital transformation processes – are enabling ever more possibilities for enhanced aesthetics, technology, user scenarios and interior design. Interactivity will be designed so that all operating options are reduced to the essentials, to the basic core functionality.
The future generation of surface is more intelligent than ever.
The future generation of surface is more intelligent than ever. We can simply move our hands over a fabric-covered surface in the car and an interactive surface or dynamic ambient decorative lighting appears. The surfaces interact with us. New levels of design freedom for interiors can be realised with e.g. our activeSkin concept. The old design principle "form follows function" will be completely redefined with this new concept development. In the future, car interiors will increasingly have the atmosphere of a Next Living Space, with surfaces which are not only decorative and have a pleasant feel, but are also fully interactive.
We offer functionality on demand, which is only visible when it is needed. With this, we have the possibility of personalisation functions into interior surfaces. Our activeSkin technology enables a freedom in interactive design. The quality and elegance with which the imaging and data transfer is implemented is impressive. With activeSkin, we can achieve a 3D effect with a surprising sense of depth.
Apparently, by using eyes, voice and hand gestures, it is possible to eliminate buttons from an infotainment system. What is your vision of this touch-free user experience?
We already use the next generation HVAC Slim Air Vents with gesture control in our XiM18. The instrument panel is visually enhanced by the seamless integration of almost invisible, ultra-slim HVAC technology with controllable air vents and oscillating action. Equally unobtrusive is the design of future HMIs in the form of pressure-sensitive user interfaces.
Together with KOSTAL, we presented the first results of our strategic partnership at the IAA last year using a floor console as an example. In the module, modern interior design and high-quality, authentic 3D glass processing from YFAI meets innovative mechatronics and new HMI solutions from KOSTAL. It represents the development of a new functional surface based on three-dimensional curved glass. This means that modern operating elements and switches can now be integrated even into larger decorative elements in 3D glass shaped surfaces to form an innovative, functional surface module. If no information is called up, the integrated screen and operating surfaces remain invisible as purely decorative glass surfaces. Thus, the driver is not distracted by unnecessary information. The concept development, which is nearly production-ready, could be used in the next generation of vehicles as early as model year 2021.
It's possible to eliminate all buttons from the infotainment system but will the end-user really want it?
Generally, from a technical standpoint, we think it's possible to eliminate all buttons from the infotainment system, but, in the end, the question is whether the end-user really wants to have it. We will see if this will really happen in the future. Our interior designers take an in-depth look at behaviour patterns: how people will sit in their cars in the future, move inside them and safely interact with the vehicle, traffic and the socio-digital ecosystem.
We understand that YFAI has joined the Plug and Play innovation platform. What do you hope to get from participating in this?
Plug and Play is the largest global innovation platform that brings together start-ups, investors, and corporations. Collaborating with this network and its partners is important for us to obtain fresh ideas and new insights as well as further global access to disruptive technology and start-ups to accelerate the pace.
