_ WIP quarantine project _
When quarantine started, I figured it was a great time to think about this concept vehicle and go bigger scale than most of my design work.
Besides, I've always wanted to do a Tron / Syd Mead / Akira- inspired 'bike' for 202X....
While mass transit is catered to dense cities, there hasn't been much innovation in how to fix the Last Mile Problem. Additionally, this pandemic has highlighted a major weakness of dense ridership conditions and prolonged exposure to disease. In suburbia, people are driving 'fuel efficient' vehicles designed to carry 5+ occupants -- by themselves, since public transit doesn't accommodate their destination needs. Autonomous driving will lead to many different types of vehicles, one of which could be a class of long distance rovers -- or LDRs -- that are single occupancy, utilitarian, designed to work within existing infrastructure, and can self recharge. LDR's will use aerodynamic surfaces optimized for fuel-efficiency with low drag coefficient, combined with cost-effective and easily repairable panel construction.
LDRs use a vision system of front and rear mounted long range and wide angle cameras, radar, as well as circumferential proximity sensors to navigate road conditions and traffic.
Further, autonomous vehicles wouldn't be held back by today's bloated vehicle design standards which drive much of the form and construction: rear and side view mirrors, windshield wipers, turn signals, headlights, driver field of view, etc and will escape the traditional gaping front grilles, over-styled body panels, and cheap chrome that dominate car design today.
