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PROMPT
According to a United Nations report published in 2014, 54% of the world’s population currently lives in urban areas. This number is expected to increase to 66% by 2050, which means an additional 2.5 billion people will be added to these metropolitan regions over the next 35 years.
We are preparing for this population shift and looking at the city vehicle experience very closely. Car sharing using connected (i.e. internet enabled) electric vehicles is one specific area we are excited to explore.
Imagine yourself as an urban resident and user of shared electric vehicles in 2030. You use a shared, connected car (which you don’t own), 3-4 times per week and drive for 15-30 minutes within the city.
1. Overall Experience: What is the BEST aspect of your participation in this car sharing program? What problems has it solved for you?
2. Car Utility: What features make the car a great vehicle in the city and ideal for car sharing?
3. Interfaces: What types of interfaces (both within and external to the vehicle) would help provide a seamless experience as you use and share the car? Explain why.
2. Car Utility: What features make the car a great vehicle in the city and ideal for car sharing?
3. Interfaces: What types of interfaces (both within and external to the vehicle) would help provide a seamless experience as you use and share the car? Explain why.
Use storyboard, sketches, mockups, or powerpoint PDFs to bring your ideas to life.
Criteria:
Top ideas will anticipate user needs and capture a vivid human story or experience.
Top ideas will anticipate user needs and capture a vivid human story or experience.
PROPOSAL
[Automated|Synchronous|Modular|Electric] Shared Vehicles Will Transform Our Cities & Our Way of Life
The city of the future, if it is to be successful, will be a dense and lively place. Buildings will be close together and transportation networks will be numerous and varied. Cities must include a number of different transportation options in order to thrive. Mass transit, such as light rail, street cars, and some form of buses will still be useful. The street networks will include all forms of transportation - walking, cycling, and surface vehicles. As cities become more dense, transportation times between places lessen and the amount of open space to store personal vehicles decreases. Meanwhile, the increased number of transportation options will also decrease our dependency on them.
So where does this leave surface vehicles of the future?
We must learn to share.
The future of car sharing will not only utilize electric vehicles that can communicate between cabs, but these vehicles will also be automated. The recent trials of automated vehicles on the road by companies such as Google are already showing impressive results. These will only become better with time. In the future, ownership of personal vehicles may become a rarity, while human drivers may even become obsolete, as automation proves to be superior. Here's how this union of today's technology will play out for the casual user in the future:
SAFE
By taking part in an automated car-sharing program, we are able to free ourselves from the stresses and dangers of driving in high-speed, unpredictable situations. Driverless cars will not only be able to drive autonomously, but they will also be able to drive synchronously. They can communicate between cars to orchestrate instantaneous reactions to hazards, slowing down at the same time, and therefore preventing mass accidents. They can even predict hazards before they happen and avoid them. As the technology advances, automated vehicles will be the safest vessels on the roads.
RELIABLE
We are able to utilize technology, such as phone apps, to hail vehicles at-will. Because the cars are automated and synchronous, the app can accurately predict how long it will take for the car to arrive at your location, and when you should arrive at your destination based on current (also automated) traffic. With our trust in the synchronous nature of the apps, we can depend on real-time updates on important information concerning our ride. Behind the scenes, the network that links this system of cars is recording data per each car, such as vehicle battery power, flat tires, and mechanical issues. When you hail a car with the app, you are tapping into this database. Computers will send the most reliable vehicle closest to your location. This also means that the database can monitor individual battery power and if a car can be available for a specific trip based on how much power the battery has left. Cars that cannot make a round trip to your location, your destination, and the garage will simply not be hailed for your trip and may even return to the garage to charge. This will never leave you stranded with a car whose battery has died prematurely.
We are able to utilize technology, such as phone apps, to hail vehicles at-will. Because the cars are automated and synchronous, the app can accurately predict how long it will take for the car to arrive at your location, and when you should arrive at your destination based on current (also automated) traffic. With our trust in the synchronous nature of the apps, we can depend on real-time updates on important information concerning our ride. Behind the scenes, the network that links this system of cars is recording data per each car, such as vehicle battery power, flat tires, and mechanical issues. When you hail a car with the app, you are tapping into this database. Computers will send the most reliable vehicle closest to your location. This also means that the database can monitor individual battery power and if a car can be available for a specific trip based on how much power the battery has left. Cars that cannot make a round trip to your location, your destination, and the garage will simply not be hailed for your trip and may even return to the garage to charge. This will never leave you stranded with a car whose battery has died prematurely.
AFFORDABLE
As a user of this car-sharing service, you will never have to worry about maintenance of a personal vehicle, purchasing insurance, or finding a place to keep it, which saves you time and expense. One way to increase affordability and create and incentive for an active lifestyle could be to introduce models that contain a "pedal-for-discount" station. This could be a stationary bicycle set-up, where users could pedal during their ride, adding power to the car's battery, and reducing the cost of their trip. This incentive would give users the added benefit of exercising during what would otherwise be a sedentary ride. Meanwhile, the energy produced from pedaling would be used to generate power for the car's battery.
As a user of this car-sharing service, you will never have to worry about maintenance of a personal vehicle, purchasing insurance, or finding a place to keep it, which saves you time and expense. One way to increase affordability and create and incentive for an active lifestyle could be to introduce models that contain a "pedal-for-discount" station. This could be a stationary bicycle set-up, where users could pedal during their ride, adding power to the car's battery, and reducing the cost of their trip. This incentive would give users the added benefit of exercising during what would otherwise be a sedentary ride. Meanwhile, the energy produced from pedaling would be used to generate power for the car's battery.
ADAPTABLE
The problem with vehicles today is that they are built for certain purposes and have limited adaptability. If you own a sedan, but you need to move something large, you must rent or borrow a truck, which can be inconvenient and possibly expensive. Looking into the future with car-sharing, maintaining this same idea also seems inconvenient and even inefficient. Maybe you need a truck in a pinch, but the limited quantity of trucks is being used by others for purposes unrelated to the capabilities of a truck, simply because they were located nearest to those who hailed a vehicle. In this instance, modularity makes the most sense. Having a large quantity of basic cabs available, with a smaller quantity of add-ons becomes more efficient. Are you traveling across town today and only need the basic two-seat cab? Are you moving your friend's couch today and need a truck bed? Are you picking up several friends for a party and need seating for eight? Car bodies can be mixed-and-matched depending on your specific need. This is not only convenient for the user, but efficient for battery usage. No longer will heavy, over-powered vehicles be used inappropriately for menial tasks.
The problem with vehicles today is that they are built for certain purposes and have limited adaptability. If you own a sedan, but you need to move something large, you must rent or borrow a truck, which can be inconvenient and possibly expensive. Looking into the future with car-sharing, maintaining this same idea also seems inconvenient and even inefficient. Maybe you need a truck in a pinch, but the limited quantity of trucks is being used by others for purposes unrelated to the capabilities of a truck, simply because they were located nearest to those who hailed a vehicle. In this instance, modularity makes the most sense. Having a large quantity of basic cabs available, with a smaller quantity of add-ons becomes more efficient. Are you traveling across town today and only need the basic two-seat cab? Are you moving your friend's couch today and need a truck bed? Are you picking up several friends for a party and need seating for eight? Car bodies can be mixed-and-matched depending on your specific need. This is not only convenient for the user, but efficient for battery usage. No longer will heavy, over-powered vehicles be used inappropriately for menial tasks.
CUSTOMIZABLE
Options inside the cab should be just as personalized. Cars could sync with your phone or a personalized website to play your favorite music, news program, or video as you ride. For a longer commute, you could transform the cab into a personal workstation with built-in screens. Cars and apps can be customized with language options. For users with disabilities, an optional assistant, either human or robotic, can arrive with the cab to help them in and out. For users in wheelchairs, the cabs could have slide-out ramps, with seats folded away.
Options inside the cab should be just as personalized. Cars could sync with your phone or a personalized website to play your favorite music, news program, or video as you ride. For a longer commute, you could transform the cab into a personal workstation with built-in screens. Cars and apps can be customized with language options. For users with disabilities, an optional assistant, either human or robotic, can arrive with the cab to help them in and out. For users in wheelchairs, the cabs could have slide-out ramps, with seats folded away.
CONVENIENT
By using an app interface to hail a ride, you have access to different ride share options. Perhaps you are going across town and would like to only pick up one friend along the way for a night out. Perhaps you don't mind sharing your cab with strangers, as long as you get to your destination faster. Using the app allows you to choose your best course of travel, allowing you to personalize your trip as much or as little as you want. Alternatively, reporting problems becomes simple. If you have left something in a car, tracking it down would be easy, as the agency knows which car you rode in, where it is, and who has ridden in it after you in case of theft.
By using an app interface to hail a ride, you have access to different ride share options. Perhaps you are going across town and would like to only pick up one friend along the way for a night out. Perhaps you don't mind sharing your cab with strangers, as long as you get to your destination faster. Using the app allows you to choose your best course of travel, allowing you to personalize your trip as much or as little as you want. Alternatively, reporting problems becomes simple. If you have left something in a car, tracking it down would be easy, as the agency knows which car you rode in, where it is, and who has ridden in it after you in case of theft.
EFFICIENT
With automated vehicles comes an opportunity to make energy expenses plummet. Excess safety protections are included in today's vehicles to minimize injury to drivers who find themselves in the typical driving environment of distractions and delayed reactions at high speeds. With increased safety brought on by synchronous automation, these protections, which cause vehicles to be massive and heavy, can be relaxed. Vehicles can be stripped down to their bare necessities, which will make them much smaller and lighter, minimizing strain placed on batteries. Other efficiencies come with how the cars are used. The database can collect information from cars and users and aggregate it to produce maximum yield results on a daily basis.
With automated vehicles comes an opportunity to make energy expenses plummet. Excess safety protections are included in today's vehicles to minimize injury to drivers who find themselves in the typical driving environment of distractions and delayed reactions at high speeds. With increased safety brought on by synchronous automation, these protections, which cause vehicles to be massive and heavy, can be relaxed. Vehicles can be stripped down to their bare necessities, which will make them much smaller and lighter, minimizing strain placed on batteries. Other efficiencies come with how the cars are used. The database can collect information from cars and users and aggregate it to produce maximum yield results on a daily basis.
CLEAN
Eliminating gasoline-burning vehicles from our cities is the best way to improve air quality. Pedestrians and cyclists will be better off not having to breathe in toxic fumes emitted from tailpipes. While the energy for electricity must be produced somewhere, it would be more efficient and ultimately cleaner if it were produced and regulated in one location, rather than a thousand small points as it is today.
Eliminating gasoline-burning vehicles from our cities is the best way to improve air quality. Pedestrians and cyclists will be better off not having to breathe in toxic fumes emitted from tailpipes. While the energy for electricity must be produced somewhere, it would be more efficient and ultimately cleaner if it were produced and regulated in one location, rather than a thousand small points as it is today.
Surface vehicles will become a luxury reserved for special occasions. When foot, bicycle, and mass transit are not the ideal option, hailing your own personalized ride could be your best alternative.
