By Steve & Tamami Laser
We reported on the Honda HR-V SLF Edition last year, a prototype vehicle equipped with “10 selfie cameras” that provided driver Ashley Shutterstock (not her real name) hands-free selfie technology anywhere in the vehicle. While that turned out to be an April Fools’ gag, Nissan has improved upon the idea and brought it to life.
Remember the Nissan Cube? It was discontinued in America, yet it’s still built and sold in Japan. To help boost interest, Nissan has announced the new Cube Shutter Room concept vehicle fitted with dozens of cameras. Yet it does more than make simple selfies. The cameras are linked, allowing users to create 360° spin-style movies.
While Nissan doesn’t say how many cameras are included in the Cube Shutter Room system, there appears to be about 40. This is not virtual reality (or another April Fools joke). It really works.
Cube Shutter Room can operate while the vehicle is stationary or underway. In an effort to promote safer driving, Nissan says the system can function automatically.
Cube Shutter Room software includes an “emotion sensor” designed to trigger the camera system when it detects facial changes via the angle of the mouth and motion of the cheeks.
The automaker plans to display the Cube Shutter Room later this month at Nissan Yokohama Gallery in its global headquarters.
Reading between the lines, we think Shutter Room is designed not only to help boost interest in Cube, but also to attract “share natives,” a new generation of young buyers motivated by capturing experiences in photos and videos and sharing them.
That was a hot topic at the last Tokyo Motor Show, where we saw Nissan introduce the Teatro for Dayz concept, a futuristic boxy vehicle designed expressly for this crowd.
The concept vehicle is based on the Japanese market version of the Nissan Cube.
News source and photos courtesy of Nissan Motor Co. Ltd.
Story (commentary) © 2016 CarNichiWa.com