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Nissan
Unveils Time Out Quieting Feature
by Beth Garcia
Parents
having a difficult time gaining their
children's attention while in the car
may soon find a solution in Nissan's most
recent audio muting technology system,
Time Out.
The
new audio feature allows a vehicle's driver to
simultaneously mute all audio systems
within the concept vehicle and then broadcast
driver announcements through interior
speakers. Placed strategically on the
steering wheel, the Time Out button offers
drivers complete control of the Forum's
multiple Bose Media systems, which are
available to nearly every passenger.
According
to Bruce Campbell, vice president of Nissan
Design America, the Time Out function
was just one of the many family-friendly
features packed into the Forum concept,
Nissan's edgy, family transportation vehicle.
"We
wanted this exploratory design concept
to not only provide a way to get the kids,
grownups and all their stuff where they
want to go, but also to satisfy both parent
and kid needs," Campbell said.
With
the vehicle offering individual entertainment
systems to every passenger — which
include connections for iPods, televisions
and MP3 players — the Time Out feature
can silence the Forum's cabin should its
become too noisy.
According
to Joel Baek, lead designer for the Forum,
features like the Time Out button are
the future of family transportation and
passenger vehicles. Baek said Nissan is
working to not only provide vehicle performance,
but also passenger ease.
"The
purpose of this design [Forum] was to
bring together the aspects drivers want,"
Baek. "We wanted to be able to bring
the outside into the vehicle, but also
shut it out if we want."
In
addition to the Time Out button, the Forum
concept is also loaded with a "Kids
Cam," an electronic camera system
that allows the driver to view backseat
passengers on a display panel up front.
The front-wheel drive Forum was designed
with three rows of seating, two captain
chairs up front, a third-row bench and
a "Turntable Seating" multi-position
second row, which swivels up to 180 degrees.
Campbell
said the Forum concept is still years
away from production, and any upcoming
model year vehicle will be based on consumer
response. However, he did not deny consumers
could see features from the Forum concept,
including the Time Out button, on future
Nissan models.
"Our
intent with this is to see what kind of
emotions these features elicit, and we
will go from there," he said.
To
learn more about Nissan concept vehicles
and features, or Nissan products, visit
Nissan USA.
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