Nissan's Smiling Vehicle Mimics Human Emotions Nissan's Smiling Vehicle Technology Smiles, Frowns At Other Drivers

Nissan has revealed a new mechanically altered body material that is
designed to mimic the emotions of a car's driver.ย The Nissan Smiling
Vehicle features a
polyurethane fiber lining and built-in animatronics to smile, frown or
stay indifferent while on the road.
Automotive designers have often styled the front ends of vehicles to
resemble faces, but Nissan has taken this trend in a new direction.ย In
a project with the Hara Design Institute Nippon Design Center, Nissan
has developed a vehicle with a front-end facia that moves to form
smiles, frowns and blank emotions.ย The design employs an elastic,
polyurethane-based material called ROICA and internal animatronics that
move the mouth of the design upward, downward and at rest in the
middle.ย The result is a car whose facia smiles and frowns based on the
control — and emotion — of the driver.
This isn't the first time a vehicle has been designed to communicate
visually with other vehicles.ย However, concerns about road rage have
left designers to keep their cars quiet.ย While the Nissan Smiling
Vehicle concept may not enrage other drivers on the road, it could at
least increase the creepy factor of your daily commute