Interior of the future

NUO makes an impression in the InBiO project

Gigantic touch displays and plastic buttons are the tools drivers use now to operate their automobiles. Better ways are in the works for the future. An interdisciplinary team from the chemistry, industrial design, IT and textile technology departments at the Hochschule Reutlingen has developed a new operating concept. It reduces operational complexity and relies on bio-based materials. 


Radical change is coming to automobile technology. As the interaction between vehicles, users and the Internet increases, the need for more operating elements grows too. That's easily seen on the dashboard. Automobiles of the newest generation outdo each other with enormous screens that stretch nearly a meter from the driver's seat, over the console to the passenger's seat. That cool look leans on the operating concept that we are used to seeing on smartphones and tablets. Below the screen in the center console, an impressive number of interactive keys crowd together. Is all of that sustainable? "Definitely not," says Martin Luccarelli. The professor for industrial and material design at the Hochschule Reutlingen would like to develop a new operating concept that uses natural materials such as textiles or wood veneer. Plastic injection molding, he says, is not at all right for the future. In the project entitled "Interactive, bio-based surfaces for user-centric automobile interiors" (or "InBiO), which is supported by European Regional Development Funds from the EU and the Baden-Württemberg region, Luccarelli and his colleagues are developing solutions and implementing them in a demonstration model. 

A pilot user also has been found in Christian Peters, a successful 50-something manager in a medium-sized company who commutes to work daily from his home in a small city. Peters enjoys driving and cares about sustainability. "A typical Mercedes E-class driver," says the designer Franka Wehr, a research associate in Luccarelli's department. Peters is an invented person, or "persona" in product development lingo, who is representative of a typical customer for such a vehicle. Members of his Quintastics generation, influenced by the symbols and emotions associated with driving, demonstrate their environmentally friendly attitude by purchasing the latest clean technologies available on the market. 

Wehr redesigned the center console of an E-class sedan. The mechanical buttons made of plastic are conspicuously absent. The console is instead covered with fabric onto which the elements are stitched. There are three large touch fields to control the air conditioning, media playback and options. When one key is touched, 12 other keys light up with additional related functions, such as adjustments for the heated seats. Today's autos are overloaded with operating elements. A daunting example is found in the new electric vehicles in which the driver can change the direction of the air vents only over the touch screen – with up to five operating steps. "With our operating concept, certain functions are first visible when the driver needs them," says Wehr. ETTLIN AG, the manufacturer of the smart textiles with light effects, is the official partner of the InBiO project. Eissmann Automotive supports the research team in the procurement of auto interior components made of select materials. The start-up NUO GmbH, a subsidiary of the well-known veneer producer Schorn & Groh GmbH, delivered material for the demonstration model. 

Researchers are working hard to make materials and products more sustainable. Less attention is usually paid to the question of whether customers recognize this sustainability, because only then – if at all – are they willing to pay a little more for it. In other words, what does a product have to look like for customers to perceive it as sustainable? Luccarelli has a clear opinion: "Materials not only have to be sustainable, they also have to have a sustainable effect." Textile engineer Martina Gerbig determined the challenges in tests. The research assistant worked on the InBiO project under the direction of Kai Nebel, who is an expert in textile process engineering and the sustainability officer at the Faculty of Textiles & Design. Gerbig and Wehr together presented test subjects with different materials and asked them to say whether or not they were sustainable. The test subjects were often off the mark. A textile made of cellulose fibers, for example, was judged to be less sustainable. Wehr knows why: "If a material is smooth and shiny, it tends to be perceived as artificial. On the other hand, if fibers are visible and the material is rough and matte, it appears more natural." For the demonstration model, the project team therefore chose only materials that radiate a high degree of naturalness.
The material NUO makes a very good impression. It is a very soft, fabric-like veneer that is particularly sustainable, resource-conserving and renewable. The warm appearance of the wood was rated very positively by the test subjects who appreciate a cozy and relaxed atmosphere in the interior of a vehicle, like the one they know at home. 

The high-quality NUO wood veneer with a thickness of 0.6 mm is joined to its textile backing by a water-based adhesive. The wood surface is then laser engraved with a graphic pattern that gives the material its flexibility. Six wood species and four engravings make up the current collection. Luccarelli used the wood species walnut in the T1L engraving pattern, which is one of the largest of the four NUO engravings with a grid size of approximately 4 mm. 

The appearance and flexibility of the NUO material are fascinating. Unusual shapes and curves can be realized effortlessly. Another advantage is the perforation in the NUO veneer created in the production process. Interaction with the driver takes place through the use of light effects. Sudden braking without any warning, for example, would be disconcerting for the occupants. By means of a light pulse on the steering wheel or on the dashboard, the software announces the impending action.  
After completion of the project, the demonstration model/driving simulator will be further developed in the long term to advance other concepts and take into account the needs of the textile and automotive industries in Baden-Württemberg. "In the future, routes in the city or in the countryside will be driven on the simulator in a virtual environment so that test persons can touch and feel the haptics of the bio-based control elements," says Luccarelli. 

The professor values the interdisciplinary nature of the project: "We have shown that bio-based materials and interactive controls can be used to reduce complexity and advance sustainability. Best of all, we worked together in each of our disciplines from the very beginning instead of processing the work packages one after the other."


Text source:

Müller, B. (2020) Textil statt Plastik. re:search, 3 (S. 24-25). Reutlingen: Hochschule Reutlingen.

Groß, S. (2021) ABSCHLUSS DES INTERDISZIPLINÄREN FORSCHUNGSPROJEKTES „INBIO". Hochschule Reutlingen.