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The car as an office - in times of a corona pandemic, such solutions offer an alternative to the home office
Photo: BOTT
Telephone, voice recorder, typewriter.
Plus a printer that pulls out of the glove compartment at the push of a button.
Hans Albert Zender caused a stir in 1985 with a car equipped in this way.
“Telekomm 2000” is the name of the concept vehicle that was presented at the IAA in Frankfurt, a Renault Espace that has been converted into a head office.
"People weren't ready for it yet," Zender said later about the fair eye-catcher.
Today, 36 years and a pandemic later, the time has come for many.
Manufacturers and suppliers have been working for years to ensure that time in the car can be used effectively.
The corona pandemic gives the idea of an office on wheels further impetus.
When kids are in homeschooling and two adults try to work from home, the apartment can get really tight.
For some, the car is an alternative to work or even a place of refuge.
In an emergency, a mobile emergency office can be set up in just a few simple steps: a folded front seat becomes a desk pad, the mobile phone becomes an internet hotspot, the door pockets are used to store office utensils and coffee or tea is steamed in the cup holder.
For a long time, however, this is not really comfortable.
However, modern vehicles are often more modern than many offices.
The seats are more ergonomic and individually adjustable.
There are screens and touch screens.
With infotainment systems like Daimler's MBUX or BMW's iDrive, messages can be sent via voice control.
With extra effort, a car can be converted into a feel-good capsule.
Supplier Webasto, for example, offers an electric auxiliary heater that warms, filters and cleans indoor air.
The device (price around 1000 euros) is powered by a power connection to a conventional socket - the motor stays off and does not pollute the environment.
Car desk from the Danish specialist
The Danish company Mobile Office has recognized the "Car Office" as a niche in the market.
It specializes in car desks and custom-made products for using tablets and smartphones in vehicles.
For 290 euros there is a multifunctional desk to which a laptop, smartphone and printer can be connected.
The notebook is attached to a turntable and oriented towards the driver.
The workplace is placed - and strapped in - on the passenger seat.
For many technicians, such a mobile office has long been part of everyday life.
The Bott company from Gaildorf manufactures accessories for service vehicles.
A product from the Baden-Württemberg company is called »Car Office«: a desk top, several insert holders and a storage box under the top.
Why should only field workers enjoy these amenities?
A good internet connection is of course essential for work.
The mobile phone hotspot is not a stable permanent solution.
New cars that have been registered in the EU since April 2018 have Internet access via SIM card as standard.
This was required by law at the time in order to establish the e-Call emergency call.
Navigation systems that regularly update map data also use SIM cards.
These are also a prerequisite for setting up a hotspot for smartphones, tablets and the like in the car.
The Jaguar F-Pace, for example, has two LTE modems and a SIM card slot, which enables a WiFi hotspot for up to eight devices.
Socket on board
In Germany, however, there are cars on the road that are on average almost ten years old.
An online connection in older cars can be established, for example, with a Car Connect adapter from Telekom, costing around 50 euros.
For an additional ten euros a month, the adapter creates a WLAN hotspot for up to five devices via the Telekom radio network.
The device is plugged into the service connection of the car - the so-called OBD-2 port, which has been installed since 2004.
However, the adapter is only suitable for combustion models from 2006 onwards, as Stiftung Warentest reports.
In electric or hybrid vehicles, the adapter cannot even be used as Internet access.
But e-mobility opens up other possibilities.
The small electric car Honda E offers four USB interfaces and an HDMI connection as standard.
The laptop can be linked to one of the five screens in the interior.
However, video playback only works when parking.
This means that time at the charging station can be used sensibly.
The “Advanced” equipment package even includes a 230-volt socket - which means that the annoying charging of the laptop via an adapter and cigarette lighter is no longer necessary.
A power shortage can also be remedied with a power bank.
If a laptop is to be charged, however, it should be ensured that the device has at least 20,000 mAh.
Looking to the future: even more offices in the car
The auto office will become more important in the future - especially when cars drive autonomously and the driver wants to do something else.
"A lot is in motion in the interior of the future," says the mechatronics company Brose from Coburg.
The interior of tomorrow is "office, living room, lounge and still the cockpit".
Brose announced a new type of center console as early as 2019: It can be moved forwards and backwards, can be transformed into a table, has a screen and can also be folded in so that the seats can be rotated.
The Chinese supplier Yanfeng has already presented solutions for face-to-face meetings as soon as they are possible again.
The “Experience in Motion 2018” study has a “meeting mode” ready for series production, in which the driver's seat moves to the rear of the interior and the front passenger seat rotates 180 degrees - which creates a classic negotiating position in the car for two people.
Such a setting seems far away in times of the pandemic - and may not even be desirable for many who are stressed from home office.
A warm individual office on four wheels would be enough for them.
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