The Rinspeed Senso is a concept car presented by the Swiss company Rinspeed at the Geneva Motor Show in 2005, developed together with Bayer MaterialScience. Its distinguishing feature is that it senses the driver’s feelings and responds to them.
Rinspeed Senso at a glance
| Maker | Rinspeed, Zumikon, Switzerland |
|---|---|
| Presented | Geneva Motor Show 2005 |
| Developed with | Bayer MaterialScience |
| Power | 250 PS |
| Fuel | natural gas |
| Top speed | 250 km/h |
| Driver sensing | biometric polar watch and Mobile Eye camera |
| Cockpit response | light colour, music and scent |
The description of the Senso comes from the German Wikipedia article; the company background is from the English article on Rinspeed.
History of the Rinspeed Senso
The Senso was shown at the motor show in Geneva in 2005 and developed together with the materials company Bayer MaterialScience, then a frequent partner of Rinspeed. The car is powered by a natural-gas engine of 250 PS and reaches a top speed of 250 km/h.
What makes it unusual is the way it watches its driver. Electronic sensors register the driver’s mood: a biometric polar watch measures his pulse rate, and a special “Mobile Eye” camera records how he is driving. A computer combines the two readings and interprets them.
The result is a cockpit that changes with the driver’s state of mind. The interior is bathed in light whose colour is chosen to match the mood and to calm the driver, and the music and the smells inside the car are adjusted in the same way. The idea behind the Senso is that a relaxed driver is a safer driver, so the car tries to influence how its occupant feels rather than only how it behaves on the road.
Design and features
- Pulse measurement: a biometric polar watch records the driver’s heart rate.
- Driving behaviour: a Mobile Eye camera watches how the car is being driven.
- Mood-matched light: the cockpit is lit in a colour chosen to suit and calm the driver.
- Music and scent: both are adjusted to the driver’s condition as well.
- Natural gas: 250 PS and 250 km/h from a gas engine.
Rinspeed Senso versions
- Senso (2005): the single concept car described in the sources.
- Related Rinspeed studies: the zaZen of 2006 and the Splash of 2004 were also developed with Bayer MaterialScience.
The zaZen came from the same partnership with Bayer MaterialScience, and the Bedouin shows the same taste for unusual cabin features. More is under Rinspeed.
Video: Rinspeed Senso 2005
Video on YouTube.
Sources
- Rinspeed Senso, German Wikipedia: presentation, engine, sensors and cockpit
- Rinspeed, English Wikipedia: company background and the zaZen
