Automation will challenge our notions about communication between the vehicle and its surroundings. This thesis explores how an autonomous Peugeot vehicle could look like if the exterior design would be smart and aware about the world around it.  Using as reference the needs of a small family and inspired by ripple effects as a reaction to an impulse, the design process also included research, ideation and form development using analog and digital tools. Animation and video were also used for testing and visualising the ‘autonomous language’.  The result is a concept vehicle with an active skin and a unique sculpture reflecting its new architecture, enabled by an electric powertrain and autonomous driving technology. New light mode that lets the lights be projected towards the vehicle instead of the road will enhance the volume description of the vehicle to be visible especially at night. The design process included context research, needs of people inside and outside of the vehicle, interviews, ideation, package study, digital form development and physical model. It is important to me that my concept fits into a believable context of the future and creates a vision upon issues that we strive to develop today.

Tsang Siu Hing, Bon. / "Architecture Department, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Master of Architecture Programme 2002-2003, design report." / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 48).

It is inevitable that as a person ages they will encounter different physical and cognitive impairments as well as dynamic social issues. We started this project under the assumption that autonomous driving would greatly benefit the fastest growing population in developed countries, the elderly. However, the larger question at hand was how are older drivers going to interact with future automated driving systems? It was through the qualitative research we conducted that we were able to uncover the answer to this question; older drivers are not willing to give up “control” to autonomous cars. As interaction designers, we need to define what type of interactions need to occur in these future automated driving systems, so older drivers still feel independent and in control when driving. Lawrence D. Burns, former Vice president of Research and Development at General Motors and author of Reinventing the Automobile Personal Urban Mobility for the 21st Century talks about two driving factors that will shape the future of the automobile. These factors are energy and connectivity (Burns et al., 2010). We would add a third one, which is control. If we address these three factors we might be able to bridge the gap between how we drive today and how we will drive in the future and thus create more cohesive future automated driving systems.

Abstract When we paint a nebulous future of tomorrow based on the research dictated by the available resources, we see a marathon run for the future that instigates new opportunities for the automotive industry with additive manufacturing. Cars of today are a product of subtractive manufacturing; but in future 3D printing would empower us to define a novel architecture that provokes the construction of the interior, exterior and the powertrain in one piece allowing us to celebrate the marriage between all three key components. Project UNO, meaning - ‘one’, exhibits this new architecture through a semi-autonomous concept that exaggerates the feeling of sportiness with a suspended cabin. In the autonomous mode the cabin moves around in the boundary of the exterior to enhance the g-forces by thrusting the cabin forward while accelerating, backward while braking and tilting while cornering. Therefore, the sporty nature of the design can be celebrated actively in both modes. Inspiration and Method The process was cut up into two palpable routes. The former dealt with a system level approach where the present cardinal building blocks of automotive manufacturing were rearranged with the new cues derived from additive manufacturing techniques to render a new system level solution. The later was aimed at advocating a tangible solution that best delineated this idea. Ten radical themes were generated that helped showcase the marriage between the three key components - exterior, interior and powertrain. The final theme was inspired by the analogy of an egg where the yolk moves freely within the egg white. This metaphor was then applied to the cabin experience in the autonomous mode. The occupant in the manual driven mode can cherish the full potential of the car to procure a sporty experience outside the city. While in the city, the autonomous mode seizes control and instigates the movement of the cabin within the perimeter of the exterior to amplify the g-forces by thrusting the cabin forward while accelerating, backwards while braking and tilting it while cornering. Result Concept UNO celebrates the marriage between the exterior, the interior and the powertrain that best encapsulates the process of additive manufacturing where cars would be grown and not assembled. The interior tub is reposed inside the exterior shell with the aid of six mechanical joints and is not adhered to the floor of the car. The gap around the cabin exaggerates the feel of a floating island that can shift freely. The cabin is composed of smart glass which renders opaque when an electric current is passed through it and turns transparent when the car is parked gravitating people to yield a glimpse of the interior. The bottom of the cabin is reflected by the gloss finish of the chassis unit that amplifies the floating feeling. A warm white was used to grant the concept a more puristic look while making it seem warm and friendly. The idea was then showcased through a 1:4 scale model printed in one piece using a Selective Laser Sintering (SLM) technique.

abstract: The application of fibers and other materials in asphalt mixes has been studied and applied over the past five decades in order to improve pavement performance around the world. This thesis highlights the characteristics and performance properties of modified asphalt mixes using a blend of polypropylene and aramid fibers, The main objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of adding different fiber dosages on the laboratory performance of both asphalt binder and mixture. The laboratory study was conducted on sixteen different dosages and blends of the fibers, with various combinations of polypropylene and aramid, using binder tests as well as hot mix asphalt tests. The binder tests included: penetration, softing point, and Brookfield viscosity tests. The asphalt mixture tests included the dynamic modulus, and indirect tensile strength. The binder test results indicated that the best viscosity - temperature susceptibility performance would be from the blend of three dosages of polypropylene and one dosage of aramid, the dynamic modulus test results also confirmed this finding. Overall, in almost every case, the addition of fibers resulted in an increase in mixture stiffness regardless of fiber content. From the indirect tensile strength results, the polypropylene fibers had less of an effect on post peak failure than the aramid fibers. Overall, the aramid fibers yielded better results than the polypropylene fibers. This study has important implications for the future of pavement design and the prospect of using optimal dosages of polypropylene and aramid fibers in further research to further determine their long-term performance and characteristics used in real world applications. / Dissertation/Thesis / M.S. Civil and Environmental Engineering 2012

The topic of the project has been about the future of luxury mobility and how the brand Rolls-Royce could evolve alongthe technological advancements until the year 2038. As luxury is changing from being about possession to the experience of luxury, the goal was to design a vehicle that could support both new internal and external experiences about the vehicle. The identified obstacle that could limit the scope of new experi- ences in an autonomous vehicle is motion sickness. As cities grow and technology develops the future cities are crowded so personal space, and privacy is being limited.During the process, the tools used varied from form explora- tion through sketching, concept principle testing and finalization in 3d software as well as visualization tools to communicate the proposed solutions. Working out of the Rolls-Royce designstudio provided brand insight but also expertise in the field of color & materials as well as advice on engineering solutions from the design team.The result Rolls-Royce Luxe Nomad is a vehicle for exploring the world outside the urban areas. Going far and beyond in search of new and unique experiences but also making the trip there as enjoyable as possible. The concept provides a solution inspired by high-speed trains that could limit those effects. Through understanding the future customers need of privacy a method of controlling the amount of insight was developed to enhance the user experience and giving them an increased sense of control of their space.

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Solving future problems is a part of the masterprogram of transportation design, where thepossibilities and the push are to tackle socialand environmental problems. In this thesis, thedesigner was keen to investigate the value ofshared vehicles in future megacities since thesedense urban areas will face more challenges thantoday with the increased demands in housing,education, health, leisure and transportation.In order to investigate the future problems thatmegacities will face, the designer focuses ona speculative design approach that is used tohelp navigate the scenarios and determine themost applicable one, enabling him to determinethe values of a shared vehicle. The speculativefuture suggested a formation of segregated sub-societies within the city where individuals areforced to share certain mobility services. However,this segregation will have a reverse effect onhow the mobility behaviour of individuals mightchange in avoiding certain mobility services dueto its association with a sub-society other thanthe one they belong to, for example, people withdifferent ethnicity or social classes.Since mobility systems and vehicles areconsidered facilitators of such segregation andsub-societies formation, the solution can beprovided as a shared mobility vehicle. Such avehicle will form a focal interaction between twostrangers sharing the same route. Using ancientarchitectural techniques (the velarium andoculus), the vehicle creates a humble gatheringexperience that crosses economic, social andethnic differences.To achieve such a design, the designer useddifferent techniques in 2D design and 3Dmodelling to push for multiple directions that led to the formation of one concept, Velaria. TheVelaria is an autonomous oval-shaped vehiclewhere the rounded form, the velarium and theoculus at the roof provide an experience ofhumbleness and gathering by introducing thesky and the light as a higher umbrella or domethat brings users from different backgroundstogether. This technique was used in romanbuildings like the Pantheon and the Colosseum,and carried on to modern art and architecture.This project provides a glimpse of the implicationsof current mobility systems regarding theformation of social sustainability. Thereforethe project gives a clear direction of what thefuture values of the vehicle can be and how thevehicle can be the starting point of weaving thesocial fabric to achieve a resilient society thatcan change the future scenario of mobility andsociety in future megacities.

Bisherige Vorstellungen von Design als ausschließlich produktbezogene Gestaltung haben sich überlebt, auch wenn dieser fundmentale Bruch in der Alltagswahr nehmung häufig überdeckt wird. Die vorliegende Untersuchung zum Designkonzept, verstanden als die Wesensbestimmung eines zu entwerfenden Objektes, greift diese Entwicklungen auf einer konkrete Ebene auf. So ist der Hauptbezugspunkt der vorzunehmenden Wesensbestimmung das ganzheitliche Erleben eines Produktes – Product Experience – nicht seine geometrische oder funktionale Beschaffenheit. Die in diesem Buch dargestellten Untersuchungen erfolgten im Transportation Design, einem der etabliertesten De signbereiche. Die zur Erstellung eines Designkonzeptes verwendeten Werkzeuge wie Personas und Szenarien entstammen anderen Fachdisziplinen, werden aber mit den designeigenen Werkzeugen der Zeichnung oder Illustration verarbeitet und ver dichtet. Dabei nutzen sie Modelle der Handlungsregulation und des komplexen Problemlösens als theoretische Grundlage. Das so entstandene Designkonzept kann strukturiert in die integrierte Produktentwicklung eingebunden werden und wird Teil eines Semantic Frontends. Die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen bestätigen die Existenz von Designkonzepten und geben eine umfassende Beschreibung von Merkmalen, Inhalten, Funktionen sowie ihrer Erstellung.