H1st Vision: joining forces for new Renault Scénic

Do you recognize the car you see in these photos? That may very well be true. It is the Renault Scénic Vision shown last year, but in a somewhat lighter jacket. Nothing new, you would say. Yet there is a lot of news under the sun with this H1st Vision baptized concept car. It is the showcase for the things that ‘Software République’ has to offer for the car of the future. Renault’s French partnership with companies such as Atos, Dassault, ST Microelectronics and Thales should, among other things, bring mobility into a new phase. That works quite well with the H1st Vision.

‘Human First’

The Renault H1st Vision (Human First Vision) is in fact completely connected to its occupants and the world around it. This is evidenced by many things. It starts when you approach the car, because up to six meters away, the car must be able to recognize you thanks to biometric data and open the door for you. Once on board, you will be treated to a musical experience of jewels, thanks to an audio system consisting of 16 speakers, for which Arkamys is responsible, among others. Nice of course, but more striking is how the car focuses on the people in it in different ways. For example, the car can monitor your health and, where necessary, automatically alert the emergency services if, for example, you have something wrong with your heart.

Of a more light-hearted nature is what happens when a bell comes in. Then the person who wants to have the conversation can say ‘I’ll take it’ and the sound of the conversation will be shared through the speakers in the headrest of the chair on which the person is sitting. Of course you also need a smart voice assistant for this, which is also included. A chat bot can help you find a parking space and initiate the payment for this, although this can also be arranged via one of the shortcuts on the dashboard. Speaking of payment: this is done via Mobilize Wallet, a payment service from Renault’s (shared) mobility branch.

Not only your own health is monitored, but also that of the car itself. An NFT is created on which all information about your car can be seen and, of course, the data can also be called up in the car itself. For example, the condition of the tires is tracked via sensors and you gain insight into how long they should last and how your driving style affects this. Things like the expected lifespan of the battery and powertrain are also tracked.

Hydrogen?

Speaking of the drive: the ‘H1’ in the name of this study model seems to suggest that hydrogen is involved, but people are now silent about that in all languages. However, it is about a battery and electric drive. In theory, hydrogen could still be involved, as was the case with the Renault Scénic Vision. It had both a fuel cell and a 40 kWh battery, which should allow a range of 500 km (half by charging with a plug, the other half by the fuel cell). The production version of the electric new Renault Scénic will appear next year. For the time being, we are betting that it will be a technical counterpart of the Nissan Ariya, so just purely with a battery.