Audi activesphere concept combines industrial chic with cutting-edge technology

Audi's activesphere concept is a unique crossover vehicle that fuses the luxury of an Audi Sportback with the utility of an SUV and the robust off-road capabilities of a traditional Audi. It shares the Audi PPE architecture with the other spherical concept cars and is fitted with an electric powertrain and fast charging technology. The Audi activesphere concept is virtually the same size as an Audi A6 from the outside, measuring 4.98 meters in length, 2.07 meters in width, and 1.60 meters in height.

The glass used in the car's construction accounts for a sizeable percentage of the vehicle's overall volume. The activesphere's front single-frame grille is made of glass, providing the driver and passengers with an unobstructed view of the road. When the Audi activesphere is driven off-road, glass panels on the side and bottom of the doors eliminate the barrier between the outside world and the interior space. In the same way that the roof is see-through and lets in plenty of natural light, so is the wide, rounded trunk lid fitted with a sizable glass panel.

The large wheel arches on the vehicle's bodywork are a telltale clue that it has the electronically controlled, variable-range quattro four-wheel drive system, signaling its off-road capabilities. The Audi activesphere's ground clearance is also adjustable, ranging from a high of 208 millimeters (mm) to a low of 178 mm (mm), making it suitable for both on- and off-road use.

The Audi insignia, featuring four rings, is reflected in the headlights. Audi debuted its new digital light signature, the Audi eye, at the Audi grandsphere and is displayed on the units. This signature is now mutable on activesphere, with distinct forms for on-road and off-road driving.

With a slight push, the Audi activesphere's transparent rear window can be moved across the roof almost to a perfect flush. At the same time, the vertical piece at the base of the back can be folded down horizontally to reveal a shelf that can be used in conjunction with the built-in holder for a bicycle or other active back. C-pillars, which make up the rear end's side surfaces, stay still, keeping the activesphere's kinetic profile intact. The back of the car is shielded from the elements by a wall that rises behind the back seats.

The Audi activesphere's cockpit is a model of clarity and ease of use. The Audi activesphere concept's dashboard, steering wheel, and pedals disappear in fully automatic mode. When the driver wants to take control of the vehicle, the steering wheel, and the instrument panel rise out from their hiding place under the windshield. The touchless MMI controls in the doors are always within easy reach, so you can adjust the windows and seats without taking your hands off the wheel.

Thanks to advancements in display and operational technologies, the independence afforded by autonomous driving may be utilized and shaped in creative ways within the activesphere. Audi dimensions, a novel operational idea, merge the real and the virtual (mixed reality) by superimposing real-time digital data onto the user's field of view.

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The new technology revolves around cutting-edge mixed reality glasses, which display both the physical world and the road, as well as additional information and interactive features, in the same field of view. In this manner, the driver may see anything useful, such as vehicle diagnostics and route guidance. Additionally, the cabin's operating features and other virtual displays are hidden from view to those without the glasses, making the cabin appear more streamlined and modern to those who aren't wearing them. Because the glasses display the functions and their execution reactively and in real time concurrently with the touch of the hand, one may even direct the precise interaction with these invisible touch-sensitive zones utilizing mixed-reality optics.

For informational purposes only, at first, the user sees virtual specifics. When the user's attention is drawn to one of these features, the system interprets this as a cue to provide more information about that feature, just like when a user manually clicks to reveal a drop-down menu. By focusing on an aspect and interacting with it through hand gestures, the user transitions that element into an active state, and the car's "user interface" (the virtual display in the glasses) responds to changes in real-time, just like a standard operating instrument.

Unlike a physical control element like a rotary switch, the user does not need to bend forward or stretch his arms to engage with the user interface while seated comfortably because the virtual control element advances towards the user.

As such, the car represents a departure from the conventional operational idea based on screens and physical controls. Instead, the elements' controls are seen as floating on top of the elements' functions to which they are attached. The air conditioner's control panel is depicted in front of the nozzle, while the speaker is placed above the interactive media and sound panel.

The activesphere concept shares its foundation with the Audi grandsphere and the Audi urbansphere in that it is based on Audi's Premium Platform Electric (PPE), the company's most cutting-edge electric powertrain platform. Audi is spearheading the project's development with Porsche AG, and the first Audi vehicle built on the PPE platform will debut later this year.

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The 800 V charging system and the 100 kWh battery pack give the Audi activesphere concept a range of over 600 kilometers. This technology allows the battery to be charged at lightning chargers up to 270 kW, much like in the Audi e-tron GT quattro. It allows for a 300-kilometer-driving range to be charged in just 10 minutes.

The Audi activesphere concept, a four-wheel drive vehicle, receives 442 hp and 720 Nm of torque from electric motors mounted on both the front and rear axles. The Audi adaptive air suspension is also included in the concept car. @via Audi.