3D printable driverless car with three wheels cruises on the road using voice commands

Driverless car NILA designed with 3D printing

3D printing has come a long way, and not, it is a sought-after option for car designs such as the new entree to the driverless vehicle game, NILA. The all-electric, self-driving car packs several features that might nudge its passengers to buckle up. Aside from having no steering wheel, the car’s concept is driven by a generative artificial intelligence program where over six neural networks operate the entire vehicle. It enables almost zero human-touch interaction and voice-command cruising.

3D printing comes in through the prismatic volumes of the car design. Topped with geometric foldings that recall origami techniques (there’s even an origami-inspired scooter out there), the design might look spiky and sharp at first glance, but startup Niebla, the mastermind behind NILA, assures passengers that the surface is soft like a sponge. Such a texture is made possible with the use of 3D printing techniques, while the overall design of NILA is influenced by the cityscapes of Los Angeles.

images courtesy of Niebla Inc.

Door-to-door display screen for controls

Aside from having AI capacities and 3D printing techniques around it, NILA the driverless car only has three wheels, two at the front and a lone one at the rear. The doors look like they will swing sideways, but the singular pane means the whole canopy flaps open as if the passengers were entering a cockpit. Right off the bat, the bench-like seats can accommodate up to two people with no armrests to free up more space. The comfy chair dips below too so passengers can recline with ease and, hopefully, enjoy the driverless ride.

A feature that Niebla founder and developer Daniel Nieblas states can be a winsome feature is the car’s UI/UX panel which replaces the traditional dashboard. Here, a display screen stretches from door to door, occupying the entire dashboard and doubling as the infotainment for the passengers. Dubbed ‘The Terminal,’ it has a virtual series of control panels and is operated without any keys or mechanical buttons. Passengers activate controls using either their voice or by touching the options on the screen.

the driverless car has three wheels

Virtual key using a dedicated app

Passengers can use the display screen for movie streaming, video calls, and as Nieblas states, for ordering food through phone calls. Speaking of phones, NILA opts for a virtual rather than physical key to start up the vehicle. The driverless car is opened using a dedicated app where passengers can plan and schedule their entire trip using voice recognition or a text message. Using the app, they can also direct the car toward a preferred parking space or command it to go to the nearest charging station.

Nieblas adds that the goal of NILA is to make a Level V autonomous vehicle that is affordable enough to drive around the Greater Los Angeles Area by early 2024, which is a few months away. It has partnered with 3D manufacturer Polymaker to manifest its 3D printable driverless car which may speed up the design team in releasing the first NILA. As of publishing the story, the design team of NILA is undergoing simulator tests to demonstrate the full viability of its generative AI program.

parts of the modular interior design can be printed using a 3D printer