RCA brings rural mobility to the RAC

Pretty much every concept we see that focuses on ‘future mobility’ is conceived within the realms of moving around a city. But, despite the continued growth of said cities around the world, rural areas and the people living in them will also still exist, and they will have the same need to get about as anyone else. What’s more, in the UK at least, the transport infrastructure in countryside areas outside of a town or city has a notorious habit of being rather pathetic. So, what does all this self-driving shared-ride electric futurism mean for them?

That’s what the Royal College of Art’s intelligent mobility students have been looking at, and last week, eight teams took their research-driven projects to the Royal Automobile Club to help the RAC kick off London Motor Week 2019. After tearing ourselves away from Sir Jackie Stewart’s 1971 Tyrrell-Ford 003 on display in the foyer, we headed upstairs to see these much more important vehicular displays…

Two awards were given out following appraisal by a panel of judges from the industry. The Insight Award went to Team Carnier, comprising Domenico Perna, Marie Torrens, Zheming Zhang, Whenhao Zhang and Seok-woo Choe. Their project can be seen below:

Carnier

Project description:

“The Carnier is a vehicle that is a part of a system which aims are to:
- Support the self-sustenance of rural communities
- Increase the general wellbeing of these communities
- Strength the meaning of community bringing individuals together

The vehicle wants to help farmers to sell their products in two ways. Firstly making the process of setting up a market easy. Secondly acting as an autonomous delivery that can bring fresh food every day in all neighbourhoods of the town.

Carnier is composed of two parts, that can act both as one or seated vehicles, which are:
- The carrier that can be used as personal transport for the farmer.
- The Cargo bay, that can be used as a pop-up shop for the market or can become an autonomous delivery vehicle.

Another target of our system is to bring the community together, giving to the people the opportunity of shearing unused food in the town. People can use the autonomous delivery vehicle to drop the goods that they want to share, and that otherwise would be wasted.

The vehicle has been designed to look friendly & interactive (the all exterior surface can act as a big digital screen to display messages). use Local materials, like local wood and textiles for some parts of the interiors and exteriors to create a balance between tradition and technology.”

–

The Style Award went to Team SOHO – comprising Abhidnya Kothavade, Dinesh Raman, Joseph Zammit, Xiao Yang and Sharon Ramalingam – for their Carchitecture project, which they described as follows:

SOHO

Project description:

“‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts’

Mobility is a crucial element in the economic and social development of rural areas.

Wadhurst is an Ideal place to live for people working in London who desire to escape the bustling city for the rolling countryside of the weald. Despite the sense of community that exists, London commuters remain mostly unseen. The concept focuses on growing the sense of community and togetherness through the creation of shared spaces which are few and far between in Wadhurst.

The solution we coined as “Carchitecture” is a one of a kind smart mobility/infrastructure concept. Focused on repurposing dormant vehicles used by London commuters parked at the station from mere mobility devices to something that can create temporary shared spaces, using two or more vehicles. Helping villagers to create on-demand spaces we call SOHOs. Capable of a variety of purposes such as small pop up market, cafes, meeting/workspaces, crèches and much more. Thus, creating local jobs and encouraging local businesses.

The vehicles can be configured linearly or radially to form seamless interior spaces that range from small to large. As well as this, the dormant vehicles can also be used as on-demand public transport shuttles throughout the day.

The system works on a subscription model owned by London commuters, thus helping the village to develop. The smart SOHO app is used to demand specific spaces or mobility, creating a platform for the villagers to interact.

The concept brings the community and vehicles together to maximise their true potential.”

–

An honourable mention also went to Team Star Road, whose proposal wasn’t a vehicle at all, but a bioluminescent pavement:

Star Road project description:

“Wadhurst takes part in the dark-sky community which allows its villagers to enjoy the night-time view, however, ironically it also prevents essential street lights from being installed. People of Wadhurst have been raising their concern about the areas of the town with no street light due to health and safety issues, especially during dark hours.

Star Road is an interactive light system that allows people to get around town safely without raising light pollution level. Pebble-shaped light-emitting modules are installed onto the road. These modules are pressure-sensitive and hence will only be activated when required. It can be a silent companion to a commuter on the way home, it can be a helpful guidance for a child to navigate around and it can also be a watchful protector for an elderly in medical needs.

Using bioluminescent organism called dinoflagelatte, Star Road is a sustainable system that is aimed at not only helping people of Wadhurst get around during night-time, but also help them feel the emotions brought by star-gazing and furthermore, to help them interact with each other.”