Toyota unveiled the Concept-i at CES 2017, where it received a very positive reception. Chief amongst the car\u2019s technological breakthroughs is its artificial intelligence agent, Yiu, which helps the driver in both autonomous and normal driving modes. This virtual assistant uses light, sound and touch to enhance the vehicle to driver relationship as well as to communicate with people around it.<\/p>\n<\/div>
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<\/a><\/span><\/div>Designed by Toyota\u2019s southern California-based advanced design center, CALTY, with input from the San Francisco-based Toyota Innovation Hub, the designers started working on the concept long before they ever put pen to paper.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve been working on this for about two years now,\u201d says Interior Project Design Manager William Chergosky. \u201cThis is the second model we’ve made. The first one was more of a prototype with testing out a lot of our ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>
<\/a><\/span><\/div>The entire design is centered on the Yiu agent. The form language connects and holds the center disc in place, pulling it in from the outside or out from the inside out to create a seamless expression that breaks through conventional barriers. The horizontal forms of the IP swing around, spill into the door, out the glass and flare into the rear wheel wells, linking directly to the exterior through a sweeping DLO shape that runs from the top of the vehicle all the way down to the rocker panel below.<\/p>\n<\/div>
<\/a><\/span><\/div>The forms, transitions and colorways all work in unison to create a car that embodies uniquely opposing qualities. It feels open and spacious as well as sporty and engaging; the organic shapes, pulled surfaces and patterns express movement and activity while also conveying purity and tranquility; and the ceramic white and ancient gold colors express technology and handmade craftsmanship.<\/p>\n
The design stems around the design keyword of \u2018Kinetic Warmth\u2019 as well as the Japanese word \u2018Omotenashi\u2019, which loosely translates as \u2018perfect hospitality at the right time\u2019.<\/p>\n
Entirely devoid of what CALTY Studio Chief Designer Ian Cartabiano calls \u201cthe tyranny of the black tablet\u201d all information is instead conveyed via messages embedded in the car\u2019s exterior and interior surfaces. It\u2019s a lively, intriguing and humanistic approach that brings Toyota\u2019s own \u2018Vibrant Clarity\u2019 design philosophy into the future.<\/p>\n<\/div>