Automotive

Nissan Teatro for Days concept combines digital and real world travel

Nissan Teatro for Days concept combines digital and real world travel
Teatro for Dayz concept
Teatro for Dayz concept
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Nissan gives a first look at its Teatro for Dayz concept
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Nissan gives a first look at its Teatro for Dayz concept
Inside, a blank white canvas invites creativity
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Inside, a blank white canvas invites creativity
The Teatro for Dayz is designed to make young people more enthusiastic about automobiles
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The Teatro for Dayz is designed to make young people more enthusiastic about automobiles
Occupants can use the digital equipment to create different interior and exterior looks
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Occupants can use the digital equipment to create different interior and exterior looks
Occupants can use the digital equipment to create different interior and exterior looks
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Occupants can use the digital equipment to create different interior and exterior looks
A blank digital canvas awaiting the artistic "brush"
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A blank digital canvas awaiting the artistic "brush"
Don't expect to see the Teatro at dealerships anytime soon
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Don't expect to see the Teatro at dealerships anytime soon
Nissan's Teatro concept makes driving more of a digitally shareable social experience
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Nissan's Teatro concept makes driving more of a digitally shareable social experience
Nissan hopes the Teatro concept will help engage young potential drivers in a conversation about the evolution of the automobile
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Nissan hopes the Teatro concept will help engage young potential drivers in a conversation about the evolution of the automobile
Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
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Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
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Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
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Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
Exterior LED displays spice up the Teatro's look
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Exterior LED displays spice up the Teatro's look
The Teatro for Dayz will make its world premiere at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month
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The Teatro for Dayz will make its world premiere at the Tokyo Motor Show later this month
Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
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Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
Nissan's press release doesn't give any powertrain details outside of confirming an all-electric configuration
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Nissan's press release doesn't give any powertrain details outside of confirming an all-electric configuration
The B pillar-free design opens the theater to the world outside
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The B pillar-free design opens the theater to the world outside
Nissan shows one of the exterior displays being used to show charging status
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Nissan shows one of the exterior displays being used to show charging status
An onboard camera serves to capture scenes from in and around the vehicle
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An onboard camera serves to capture scenes from in and around the vehicle
Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
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Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
A minicar with big possibilities and long digital reach
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A minicar with big possibilities and long digital reach
Teatro for Dayz concept
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Teatro for Dayz concept
"Call it a vehicle. Call it a hi-tech device. Call it the lifestyle driver of the future," says Nissan
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"Call it a vehicle. Call it a hi-tech device. Call it the lifestyle driver of the future," says Nissan
View gallery - 23 images

Study after study shows that young adults don't really care about driving a car the way previous generations did. That doesn't bode well for automakers. In an attempt to get the younger generation more excited about automotive possibilities, Nissan has designed the all-new Teatro for Dayz concept. The concept focuses on digital life and sharing, debuting as a high-tech mobile device that keeps occupants connected to a world far beyond the one visible through the windshield.

Nissan calls the young, technology-savvy demographic the "digital native generation" and "share natives." In designing a vehicle specifically for these natives, it started by scrapping the standard assumptions and definitions of auto design. What these natives are looking for is very different from what older generations want from a car. Driving is no longer about freedom, speed and horsepower but is looked upon more as a chore that requires unplugging and disconnecting from friends.

Nissan hopes the Teatro concept will help engage young potential drivers in a conversation about the evolution of the automobile
Nissan hopes the Teatro concept will help engage young potential drivers in a conversation about the evolution of the automobile

"The generation now getting their first driver's licenses has always been connected through digital devices, email, social media and so forth," explains Hidemi Sasaki, Nissan's product planning GM. "What moves these digital natives is capturing experiences in photos and videos and sharing them. Friends respond with 'likes' and share the experience further. What's important is not whether something is experienced personally or virtually. What matters is the process of sharing."

Nissan starts with an electric minicar platform, reasoning these so-called "share natives" want a car that mimics the small, versatile, electric nature of the smartphone in their pockets. The car doubles as a "giant mobile battery" for recharging smartphones and other mobile devices.

Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept
Nissan Teatro for Dayz concept

Beyond that, the Teatro is designed to be a blank canvas, exemplified by its simplistic, boxy exterior. That canvas is "painted" with integrated LED screens that allow occupants to customize the look of the car and share in-vehicle experiences through an onboard camera.

"They want a car to be a versatile tool for creativity like a smartphone," Sasaki says. "This is different from customizing a car. It is more like the ability to modify a car to meet their mood at that moment. Share natives will use cars in ways we would never imagine. So we thought from the perspective of designing a car that would serve as a canvas for their inspiration."

Inside, the oversized instrument panel is plain white. When the car is put into "drive," it transforms into a fully functioning cluster showing navigation, gauges and driver information, all of which can be rearranged by the drive. When the car is parked, the digital instrument panel is incorporated into a greater digital "theater" (Teatro's meaning in Italian) that spreads across the entire interior. Occupants can create personalized scenes that reflect their mood of the moment and share them with friends around the world.

The Teatro for Dayz is designed to make young people more enthusiastic about automobiles
The Teatro for Dayz is designed to make young people more enthusiastic about automobiles

The wide-swinging, B-pillarless door design opens the interior theater up to the outside world, and Nissan imagines the car being used for an "impromptu outdoor festival" or as a mobile interactive gaming system, bringing the digital space back to real, actual life.

The Teatro is far more a loose, futuristic vision than a production-ready concept car, and Nissan hopes it will start a new conversation about the changing role of the vehicle. It's not the only vehicle that will be in that conversation, as Toyota in particular has some experience with digital, scene-shifting concepts like the Fun-Vii, FV2 and Camette57.

Nissan will debut the Teatro for Dayz at the 2015 Tokyo Motor Show, which opens to the media on October 28.

Source: Nissan

View gallery - 23 images
3 comments
3 comments
Tom Lee Mullins
I think that is really cool. I hope it comes to the US.
Bob Flint
Driving is no longer about freedom, speed and horsepower but is looked upon more as a chore that requires unplugging and disconnecting from friends....OH NO wouldn't want that...to think that those very Digital Natives become restless and could even have the income to afford this narcisstic taxi, because their faces are focused onto their tiny screens, as their thumbs blur between tweets, likes, and status updates, as they heaven forbid actually take to the open road in this naïve mobile... Please stay off the roads, take the bus, train, or a bike at least your hands would be on the handlebars, although I have seen kids riding all sorts of contraptions completely oblivious to all their surroundings...
tonenotvolume
Looks like my Nissan Cube!