Autonomous concept car features an urban garden on wheels

From a Swiss think tank widely known for its outrageous car concepts comes the automotive dream to end all others: <a href="http://newatlas.com/rinspeed-oasis-concept-car-reveal-ces/46819/">an autonomous vehicle featuring a mobile office and a living garden</a>. The <a href="http://www.rinspeed.eu/">Rinspeed Oasis</a> is set to be unveiled at the upcoming <a href="https://www.ces.tech/">CES</a> event held in Las Vegas in early January 2017. The fully autonomous concept vehicle is a wildly different take on commuting, with a built-in personal assistant, a lock-box for packages, and a host of other smart features that change the way we think about transportation.

<a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/rinspeed/">Rinspeed</a> has promoted the “mobile office” notion in previous concept designs, and the Swiss think tank even <a href="http://inhabitat.com/rinspeed-turns-the-tesla-model-s-into-an-autonomous-mobile-office/">transformed a Tesla Model S</a> into a <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/self-driving-car/">self-driving</a> office on wheels.

With the debut of the Oasis concept next month, Rinspeed is upping the stakes quite a bit in terms of innovation and thinking outside the literal box of a car frame.

That’s the whole point of the Oasis concept, according to the company’s press release, which acknowledges some critics might be scratching their heads at the notion of growing <a href="http://inhabitat.com/design/gardening-and-plants/">plants</a> inside a car.

"Urban gardening on wheels as a new trend? A little bit out there? Maybe. But as always, the creation of Swiss mobility innovator Frank M. Rinderknecht is an oasis for inspiration in the otherwise rather expansive automotive wasteland," the company said.

The Oasis also features an onboard “personal assistant” that puts <a href="http://inhabitat.com/tag/artificial-intelligence/">artificial intelligence</a> to work for the car owner by linking personal data (via digital calendar and social media accounts, for instance) with the vehicle’s navigation system and traffic information.

As a result, the vehicle can not only let you know whether you’ll make it to your destination on time, but can also give you a heads up if you’re about to miss an appointment.

Let’s be clear about one thing: there are no plans for mass production currently in place.

At CES, Rinspeed will do what they do for another year in row, which is reveal outlandish concepts to push the envelope of automotive design and hope that carmakers will follow.

Rinspeed Oasis autonomous concept car