Cutting-edge automotive technology from Gentex is being showcased in a new vehicle concept from Rinspeed.

(image via Gentex Corporation)

The latter company specializes in issuing provocative car designs that are meant to inspire the broader automotive industry, and with its latest ‘Snap’ concept, the company is taking aim at trends in the emerging field of autonomous smart vehicles. The idea is to have an autonomous, roving chassis – somewhat like a self-driving flatbed – that is able to connect with stationary passenger pods, picking them up to deliver travelers wherever they need to go.

For the Snap prototype, Gentex has provided a biometric ID module designed to authenticate passengers via iris scan, which would then activate personalized settings for the passenger’s pod, and enable access to in-vehicle IT services. It could also be used to authorize purchases on the road, such as for parking and toll booths; and it could connect passengers with Gentex’s HomeLink platform, which is aimed at letting users remotely control things like gates and garage doors, as well as smart home devices like thermostats and lighting systems. It’s another example of Gentex’s interest in iris biometrics after the company leveraged Delta ID technology in a similar passenger identification system designed for implementation in rear view mirrors.

Attendees of next month’s Consumer Electronics Show will get to see this technology first-hand, with Rinspeed planning to showcase it at the event. CES 2018 will run from January 9th to 12th in Las Vegas.

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December 15, 2017 – by Alex Perala