---
title: "IKEA’s Got Some Strange, Beautiful Ideas About What AVs Might Look Like"
description: "Concepts for the autonomous cars of the future by SPACE10, a Copenhagen-based \"future-living lab\" run by furniture maker IKEA."
date: "2018-09-18"
modified: "2019-06-14"
authors:
  - name: "Jon Christian"
    job_title: "Executive Editor"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/ikea-autonomous-cars"
categories:
  - "Advanced Transport"
tags:
  - "Autonomous Cars"
  - "Autonomous vehicles"
  - "IKEA"
  - "Self-driving cars"
  - "space10"
  - "the digest"
---

# IKEA’s Got Some Strange, Beautiful Ideas About What AVs Might Look Like

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/ikea-autonomous-cars.png>)
*\<em\>Image: Space10\</em\>*

## WHEEL LIFE

A mustard-yellow cafe on wheels, complete with an espresso machine and flowerbeds outside the windows. A rolling farm stand with bins of fresh produce and leafy greens growing in a mini-greenhouse. A chic pop-up shop that drives to your location so you can try out its wares before buying.

Those are just a few of the seven outrageous concepts for the autonomous cars of the future [debuted this week](<https://space10.io/spaces-on-wheels-exploring-a-driverless-future/>) by SPACE10, a Copenhagen-based "future-living lab" run by furniture maker IKEA.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Cafe_Cam_01-1920x1280-1200x800.jpg>)

## CAR CONCEPTS

In a [post about the concept vehicles](<https://space10.io/spaces-on-wheels-exploring-a-driverless-future/>), SPACE10 explains that the plans explore the new vehicle designs that will be possible when autonomous cars become commonplace.

"Comparing an autonomous vehicle to a car will be like comparing a car to a horse: it will be something different altogether," the post reads. "So, what would we like it to be? That is what we want to trigger conversations about with our seven autonomous vehicle designs."

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Farm_Cam_01-1920x1280-1200x800.jpg>)

## VEHICLE VISIONS

SPACE10's concept vehicles are so far-out that it's hard not to see them as just a *little* silly. It's hard to imagine how flowerbeds, for instance, would hold up to the wear and tear of the road — plus the designs seem to lack seat belts. They're not exactly road-ready.

Still, the cars are a joyful exercise in imagining how leisure, work, and transportation could intersect, all thanks to new technology.

![](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Shop_Cam_01-1920x1280-1200x800.jpg>)

**READ MORE:** [Spaces on Wheels: Exploring a Driverless Future](<https://space10.io/spaces-on-wheels-exploring-a-driverless-future/>) \[*SPACE10*\]

***More on robotics: [Want to Ride in a Self-Driving Car? This Is What It’s Like.](<https://futurism.com/self-driving-car-video>)***

## Author
I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/jonchristian.net>)