Luxury car maker has built a car that has a human heartbeat

folarin okunola

July 21, 2015 11:20 AM

The aim of the project, a joint initiative between the creative technology division of M&C Saatchi Australia, Tricky Jigsaw, and Lexus Australia, was to connect the human body to the car.

The Lexus RC F Coupe 'heartbeat car'

This is even better than personalised number plates: Lexus has designed a one-off car that can reflect the driver's heartbeat on the vehicle's exterior using electro-luminescent paint.

According to reports, a Lexus RC F coupe has been adapted with the world-first biometric technology, which is intended to visualise the emotional and physical connection between the car and its driver. Lexus is calling it the "heartbeat car."

Sources say the aim of the project, a joint initiative between the creative technology division of M&C Saatchi Australia, Tricky Jigsaw, and Lexus Australia, was to connect the human body to the car. "We're changing the conversation from top speeds, to talking about what the car does to you emotionally," said Ben Cooper, innovation director at M&C Saatchi, according to Mashable Australia.

Sources further reveal the six-month build started at a closed-off track in southern New South Wales. To begin, Cooper and his team had to find out how driving affects the human body, especially the heart rate.

"We saw firsthand that when you sat in the passenger seat with a professional driver taking you around the track, your heart goes through the roof when he takes that corner," Cooper said. "From there, we looked at how we were going to take the heartbeat and express it throughout the car."

Reports say in the concept vehicle, a standard heartbeat monitor sends the driver's heartbeat wirelessly to a control board in the rear of the car. The custom-built Arduino control board takes the electrical signal from your heart and prompts the electro-luminescent paint to display it in a pre-determined, pulsating pattern on the car's panels. This appears in a similar fashion to a LED light.

The specialised paint contains phosphorescent substances that emit light particles in response to alternating electrical current, is a product of the U.S.-based company, Lumilor. When the system is not functioning, the car has a standard silver finish with no sign of its glowing capabilities.

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