CES 2018: Rinspeed Snap previews future mobility

There's a point where public and private transport will merge in the future – and Swiss design house Rinspeed is bringing a taste of that to the present.

The studio (renowned for wild and weird ideas like last year's Oasis and the autonomous Stos plans to attend the 2018 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas with the latest fruits of its imagination, the Snap.

Electrically powered and boasting level-five autonomy, according to the company's press release, the Snap is highly modular for sustainable 'motoring' in the future. Hardware and software elements are easily replaced/recycled, along with the 'skateboard' chassis, which is subject to high levels of wear and tear. But the passenger-carrying safety cell (the 'pod') can be transferred to a new skateboard, reducing the cost of keeping the Snap on the road over years or even decades of service life. It's an idea that turns the whole mass-market automotive business model on its head.

Rinspeed founder, Frank Rinderknecht, expects the vehicle's operating systems to wear out or be superseded by newer systems long before the pod needs to be replaced. This will have an inevitable effect on the environmentally responsible disposal and/or recycling of parts for the Snap. Rinderknecht has also developed the Snap to be something more than just transport, for that matter. The pod can be interchangeable with other top hats serving multiple purposes – camping, for example, or goods carrying.

Rinspeed named the device – one hesitates to call it a car – for its snap-together assembly. It's Rinspeed's 24th concept vehicle, but the Swiss firm had lots of help creating it. It was actually designed by another Swiss company, 4erC, and built by a third company, Esoro. The powertrain and four-wheel steering axles were developed and supplied by transmission specialist, ZF. They are integrated with a level five 'Autonomous Drive Platform' developed by Harman. LiDar sensors were provided by Ibeo in Germany, and the wheels fitted are Borbet 18-inch alloys, running low-rolling resistance tyres (225/35 R18).

American firm Gentex has contributed an iris scanner to detect human occupants in the pod, one of three levels of identification for operation of the vehicle. TomTom provides the map data for the autonomous platform, and Snap can broadcast and receive information across the entire wireless spectrum for conventional (5G) telecommunications, ultra-high-definition multimedia infotainment and Car2X (autonomous vehicle-to-infrastructure communications). Snap, should it ever go into production in a form anything like the concept, will also offer customers an intelligent robot 'personal assistant' as an option.

Six projectors convey visual messages to other road users, through the windscreen or the rear window. These messages are aimed at enhancing traffic flow and safety. Two examples would be: ‘Right of way granted’ or ‘Caution, children.

Although Snap will debut in Las Vegas, it will also be presented to the public shortly after, at Switzerland's own international motor show in Geneva.