Well-known car brand Volvo Cars have glimpsed at how autonomous drive technology will change the world as we know it. Where would we live if we could commute each workday in an autonomous driving, comfortable and fully-functional mobile office space? These questions raised by Volvo Cars’ new Volvo 360c concept, revealed recently as part of the company’s vision for the future of travel – safe, electric and autonomous.

“The 360c explores what becomes possible when we remove the human driver, using new freedoms in design and recapturing time,” said Mårten Levenstam, senior vice president of corporate strategy at Volvo Cars. “People becoming less reliant on proximity to cities is just one example of the impact of removing the burden of unproductive travel time. The 360c driving office makes it viable for people to live at greater distances from crowded cities and use their time both in a more pleasant and more effective way.”

The 360c is based on a fully autonomous, electric car without a human driver. The concept environments reflect the potential for change in the fundamental structure of how people live, by transforming unproductive or boring travel time into useful and enjoyable minutes or hours on the road. The 360c presents four potential uses of autonomous driving vehicles – a sleeping environment, mobile office, living room and entertainment space – representing an attractive travel option that could rival air, bus and train providers, but with competitive advantages in comfort, convenience and privacy.

The concept reimagines how people travel, how they use infrastructure, and how they can recapture time while travelling. With the 360c, Volvo Cars also explores opportunities to expand its business model beyond that of a traditional car manufacturer, for example, specialists of the company think that the 360c has a potential to compete in short-haul air travel, a multi-billion dollar industry comprising airlines, aircraft makers and other service providers. The 360c sleeping environment enables first-class private cabin travel from door to door, without the inconvenience of airport security, queuing, noisy and cramped airliners.

Volvo Cars is just one of many stakeholders, and the company invites a broad discussion as society learns how to make the most of this new technology.