During the Los Angeles Auto Show on Nov. 29, Intel announced a collaboration with motion pictures/entertainment company Warner Bros. to develop “in-cabin, immersive experiences in autonomous vehicle (AV) settings.”

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich says that the companies are creating the AV Entertainment Experience, which is a “first-of-its-kind proof-of-concept car to demonstrate what entertainment in the vehicle could look like in the future.”

The vehicle, which is a member of the Intel 100-car test fleet, will demonstrate the potential for entertainment in the world of autonomous driving.

With the rise of the AV industry, passengers will gradually transition from being drivers to riders, which will result in a significant increase in their connected-device time, which includes time for viewing videos. 

The average American spends more than 300 hours per year behind the wheel—according to recent transportation surveys cited by Intel—so with an increase in available time thanks to AVs, Warner Bros. and Intel see limitless possibilities inside the AV space.

The companies envision passengers being able to consume a range of content including movies and television programming, as well as immersive experiences never seen before, which will be made possible through in-cabin virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) innovations.

One example of this is a Batman fan being able to ride in the Batmobile through the streets of Gotham City, while AR capabilities render the car a literal lens to the outside world, allowing passengers to view advertising and other discovery experiences.

For Krzanich, it is fun to imagine the possibilities of in-cabin entertainment, but he is keenly aware that the ultimate test for the future of this technology is going to be winning over passengers.

“The technology will not matter if there are no riders who trust and feel comfortable using it,” Krzanich says.

To ensure that customers feel comfortable with this technology, Intel closed a deal with Mobileye earlier this year. Mobileye is the world’s leader in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), and the creator of algorithms that can reach better-than-human-eye perception through a camera.

Krzanich says that the combination of the Mobileye “eyes” and the Intel microprocessor “brain” allows the companies to deliver “more than twice the deep learning performance efficiency than the competition.”

Krzanich adds that the Mobileye ADAS technology on the road today has had a lifesaving impact thus far, as current ADAS products from Mobileye have proven to reduce accidents by 30 percent, saved 1,400 lives, prevented 450,000 crashes and saved $10 billion in economic losses.

Krzanich says, “we believe the technology Intel is bringing to market is not simply about enjoying the ride – it is about saving lives.”