Subscribe to RSSAuckland Students Design Future Transportation (Photos)
Massey University’s Auckland School of Design students have been showing off their ideas of future transportation.
The winner was student Harry Henriksen who created this model of a hybrid that morphs between a one-person car and motorbike.
He calls it Switch. At the switch of a button, it goes from a car to a motorbike letting you zip between lanes. It would run on rechargeable batteries with a hydraulics system and operate with newly emerging electronics technology, used in computer games, for self-navigation and car-to-car (or bike-to-bike) communication.
His design is now entered into Detroit’s Michelin Challenge Design contest whose entries have to show a “green footprint and a design that is “electrifying, beautiful, innovative and radiant” as well as being a concept that could dramatically improve energy efficiency, minimise environmental impact and satisfy consumer demand for an attractive usable vehicle design.
I took photos also of other final year Auckland transport student’s entries, including Greg Coxon’s Excelsior Air Bike aircraft, lighter than a modern sports bike and capable of vertical lands and takeoffs (below). It defines a new type of aircraft. By combining state of the art aerospace technologies and materials, the Air Bike offers “unrivalled performance for a range of applications.” The craft uses vectored thrust to manoeuvre quickly, safely and precisely through the toughest of environments. Light and boasting over 300 horse power, it’s “the ultimate in rapid response.”
This is by industrial design student Joshua Puno. This car comes apart to enable it to be integrated with living quarters i.e the top lifts off and so the cars media and seating can be used in a small apartment say.
A McLaren Tribute car electrically powered, designed for future racing. Student Anton Garland has done considerable research and has been to the McLaren family trust for approval.
An electric - powered utility, by Samuel Handley, aptly named Charge; so without the motor being in the front, it meets the need of being able to move long objects around urban areas, where say a courier can’t or say a lumber yard truck.
An amphibious vehicle, by Zealyon Zac Anderson, who sometimes works on the family farm and this meets the need of carrying stuff over swampy country.
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Thanks for this blog, Jon. Aukland has some brilliant students and these vehicles are very exciting!
These are indeed inspiring and let’s hope these talented students can help make a difference to the world. Good on Massey for encouraging them, too.
Just to clarify Jon, Harry Henriksen wasn’t the winner, it wasn’t actually a competition between the class. However he was a finalist in the Michelin challenge, which some Massey students entered.
Sweet cars!!!