The Volvo 360c concept wants you to sleep in your car

Volvo has unveiled its 360c concept, previewing an autonomous future in which your car is used very - very - differently to today.

The 360c is actually less a concept car (though it is a fully autonomous EV/futuristic-looking pod) and more a study on the ways we might actually use our cars in the future, what with the troublesome act of driving no longer required.

And item one on Volvo's agenda is to create a "sleeping environment" that would allow you to live further away from work, and to catch up on rest on the way to and from the office. Volvo has also pointed to its future products being used as mobile offices, living rooms, entertainment spaces and even as a replacement for domestic air travel.

"The 360c explores what becomes possible when we remove the human driver, using new freedoms in design and recapturing time. It’s a glimpse at how autonomous drive technology will change the world as we know it. The possibilities are mind-boggling,” says Volvo Cars senior vice president of strategy, Mårten Levenstam.

"People becoming less reliant on proximity to cities is just one example of the impact of removing the burden of unproductive travel time. The 360c driving office makes it viable for people to live at greater distances from crowded cities and use their time both in a more pleasant and more effective way.”

The 360c concept also previews the kinds of interior treatments available when you don't have to worry about driving, from a business class-style flat bed for sleeping to a fully functioning home office.

“We regard the 360c as a conversation starter, with more ideas and answers to come as we learn more,” Levenstam says. “Yet we believe fully autonomous drive has the potential to fundamentally change our society in many ways. It will have a profound impact on how people travel, how we design our cities and how we use infrastructure."

What do you want your cabin to look like in the future? Tell us in the comments below.