Paris, France - Peter Parker* would love it: One of the innovations with which Lexus is planning to rattle establishment cages at the upcoming Paris motor show, is this kinetic seat concept upholstered with synthetic spider silk.
Even more radical that that, however, is that the movements of the seat cushion and backrest are designed to simulate your core spinal movements and help stabilise your head.
When we walk, the spine allows the pelvis and chest to move in different directions while keeping the head in place - much like a steadicam harness - so that our eyes can transmit a clear picture to your brain.
The kinetic seat concept's seat cushion and backrest are designed to move in response to your weight and movements, so that simply sitting in the seat helps to stabilise the movement of your head caused by the car's motion, keeping your vision sharp and making driving both more comfortable and less tiring.
Spider-web
The seat frame is upholstered with spider-web pattern net with threads that radiate from the middle the backrest, flexible enough to fit closely to the shape of your body, distributing the load so that it's comfortable on long drives.
The centre of the backrest is at shoulder-blade height, allowing your chest to rotate around the seat's pivotal axis, helping to keep your head stable and providing a high level of support.
The threads in the backrest are made from environmentally friendly, synthetic spider silk, rather than oil-based hydrocarbon compounds. The main component is a protein that's not manufactured but grown, using microbial fermentation, then spun and processed into a new, high-tensile strength material with high shock absorption properties.