Based on these pilots the aim is to expand the vehicle operating environment, and to make it more complex. With the advent of autonomous vehicles, drivers become passengers and entirely free to experience the car’s interior in ways previously unimaginable. This presents a range of opportunities for automotive interiors, which are set to become the extension of the living room, with adaptable nonwoven materials employed for enhanced comfort and interiors customised to passenger needs.

Visitors and exhibitors at INDEX™17, the world’s leading nonwovens exhibition held in Geneva from 4th-7th April 2017, will have the chance to hear from “Big Picture” speaker, Dominique Taffin, Senior Manager Industrial Design at Yanfeng Automotive Interiors, the world’s leading supplier of automotive interiors, on how autonomous driving will change vehicle interiors in the future. “Increasingly digital and advanced technology, the high penetration of smart devices as well as an interest in electric vehicles, are presenting numerous possibilities for innovative interiors with increased space and comfort for the driver and passengers,” comments Mr Taffin. “Consumers will also dictate the way autonomous driven cars are used, depending on whether they want to work or relax, sit or stand, eat or sleep. Everything is yet to be discovered, once we see how people behave when these vehicles are on the road.”

Panelling and instruments used on the inside of a vehicle, the vehicle’s shape and size, interior seating or even sleeping options will become increasingly flexible. The special properties of nonwoven materials also allow for entirely new approaches in design, and can be used to attain enormous improvements in a variety of lightweight applications at a moderate price.

The rich three-day INDEX™17 programme features a free Transportation seminar on 4th April, where leading speaker Dominique Taffin will discuss the mobility of the future, highlighting the key challenges faced by the industry. Renowned experts in the field will then discuss how nonwovens are contributing to solving these challenges.

Transportation seminar speakers will include:

• Dominique Taffin, Senior Manager Industrial Design, Yanfeng Automotive Interiors, will discuss future trends in the automotive industry and how trends will impact the development of materials for the automotive interiors.
• Adrian Wilson, Editor, Sustainable Nonwovens, will look at the megatrends the industry and how these may change its structure in the future, and their impact on suppliers to the sector.
• James Taylor, R & T Manager, Autoneum, will look at the increasing use of nonwovens in vehicle interiors, in particular developments in the field of acoustic insulation in carpeting applications.
• Dr Egon Moos, Product Manager, Röschling Automotive, will examine the role of nonwovens in underbody applications for vehicles.

Participants from around the world will have the opportunity to gain first-hand knowledge of the latest developments in nonwovens for transportation applications, and the breadth of creative solutions that they can bring to a range of issues in the field.

INDEX 17

At INDEX™17, taking place from 4-7 April 2017 at Palexpo in Geneva, four dynamic nonwovens industry applications will be highlighted. Accompanied by high-level keynote speakers, free conferences and tutorials, the Transportation, Medical, Geotextiles and Filtration segments have been singled out for special focus.

In addition, for the first time, the well-renowned FILTREX conference will take place in parallel with INDEX™, on 5 and 6 April.

Article republished with the kind permission of INDEX 17.

www.index17.org

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