We’ve already seen a handful of transportation pods announced for CES and that trend continues as Luxoft has released the first details about their upcoming HALO concept. Created in collaboration with Amazon, LG Electronics and Mapbox, the HALO concept is a shared mobility vehicle that promises to have a “revolutionary” digital in-vehicle experience.
The companies were coy on specifics, but the teaser images show a pod-like vehicle with a glass roof and slender taillights. The model also features a wide lower body with wheels positioned at the corners. Of course, the concept is all about the interior and that’s where the HALO truly shines. Since the model is autonomous, it lacks a steering wheel and instead features a widescreen display that spans nearly the entire width of the dashboard. Further below, we can see prominent “HALO” badging and what appears to be a full-length center console with wood trim and metallic accents.
Rear seat passengers don’t miss out on the fun as the concept has two large displays which are integrated into the backs of the front seats. They apparently give users easy access to movies and music as well as information such as news and weather. While there’s no word on details, the displays run webOS Auto which is effectively an evolution of the Palm developed operating system that was launched on the Pre and Pixi smartphones in 2009. Of course, a lot has happened since then as Palm was acquired by HP and then webOS was snapped by up LG.
Besides featuring webOS, the HALO concept has Alexa Auto. The Amazon developed voice assistant is becoming more popular in vehicles and it allows users to simply speak to get the system to play music, place calls or get directions.
