IKEA’s innovation lab, Space10, and visual trend consultancy f°am Studio have released concept images of “Spaces on Wheels”, a futuristic project that provides insight into how driverless vehicles could be repurposed to better one’s quality of life.

The illustrations – which eschew what Space10’s creative strategist Bas Van De Poel has called the science-fiction stereotype of self-driving cars as “sleek, sterile, chrome painted machines” – feature seven, pop-up-style designs: Office on Wheels, Shop on Wheels, Cafe on Wheels, Healthcare on Wheels, Hotel on Wheels, Farm on Wheels, and Play on Wheels.

Each image offers viewers a glimpse into the ways interior spaces could adapt and cater to the needs and desires of passengers by becoming tactile and affective experiences in and of themselves.

“In a future where people no longer worry about driving,” said Göran Nilsson, concept innovation manager at Inter IKEA Systems, “vehicle interiors can expand to a point where we no longer are designing cars, but rather small spaces.”

Hotel on Wheels, for instance, is conceptualised as an intimate, clean energy-powered room that comes set with all the amenities of a hotel room, but which allows people to sleep soundly while being transported to their ultimate destination.

Commenting on the flexible applications of the proposed vehicles, Kaave Pour, Space10’s co-founder and managing director said: “When spaces are able to move themselves, then they would no longer just be [a] means of transportation, but could be tailored to the very activities we spend most time on–while moving you from A to B. This could profoundly change the lives of the many people for the better and that is also why we find it so interesting.”

Space 10 and digital design studio Norgram have also added a feature to Space10's app, which offers users a preview of how the cars could be ordered and customised in real-time.

Further details on Space 10 and IKEA's projections for the future and alternative uses of autonomous vehicles can be found in a 60-page report, which the companies released on 17 September.