The fourth year at RMIT Industrial Design. The fourth year students in the Industrial Design program work on a year long project. In 2009 a group studio was offered in car design. Called ʻcar of the futureʼ the studio invited students to present and then develop their ideas of what they considered would the future of the car. Five students worked on their individual visions of car designs.Car Design studio 2010. A studio on sustainable personal transport is being proposed for a 2010 studio project. This time however, the studio is being visualized as a collaborative space for collective innovation. The collaboration is between industry and academia at one level, at another it is imagined that different streams such as ʻsafety and ITʼ could be brought in to add key dimensions to the design concept work.

This is a draft for discussion.

Car Design StudioRMIT Industrial DesignSoumitri VaradarajanSimon CurlisMarcus Hotblack

RMIT SETPaul BeckettElectrical and Computer Engineering

Monash UniversityRod McClureMU Accident Research Centre

Melbourne UniversityChris RyanVictorian EcoInnovation Lab

Futuristic Concept CarThe car below was designed by Jacky Wu, a fourth year student at RMIT Industrial Design. Packed with innovative technologies the project demonstrates the power of design visualization in realizing concepts in a three dimensional vehicle design.

Design of shared vehicles

http://campaignprojects.wordpress.com/

Car Share

Mercedes Taxi for London

The new lower emission six-seat taxi is based on the Mercedes Vito Traveliner, and will be targeted at London's 25,000 licensed 'black cab' drivers.

Redesigned iconic London Taxi, TX4

Mercedes TaxiLondon's iconic black cabs will soon look a little different after it was announced that a new eco-friendly model will be hitting the capital's roads this summer. EcoCity Vehicles revealed today it has signed an exclusive contract with German car maker Mercedes-Benz to launch a new London cab through its KPM-UK Taxis subsidiary. (Telegraph, 16 June 2008)

London Cab Design principles“The TX1 taxi was designed to an inclusive design brief - it's got an induction loop, contrasting interior (handles and decor) and has an integral wheelchair ramp. It's has its flaws, mainly in terms of the available interior space, but a really good effort to think about all users from scratch.” (http://enabledbydesign.org/lovehates/2009/03/tx-london-taxi.html)

The London Taxi

The Taxis Ford Transit Connect Taxi Ford unveils a new taxi concept that's about as different from the Vic as you can get. The Ford Transit Connect Taxi that was spied last week combines spaciousness and utility with improved fuel economy and

reduced emissions thanks to the 2.0-liter four it packs underhood (no hybrid, though, which would be really big in cities like New York). The yellow exterior is offset with matte grey accents, including the combo fascia/bumpers fore and aft

Hailed as the Robot Taxi, the futuristic car by Kubik Petr is essentially intended for big cities to transport a maximum of two passengers with regular hand-held baggage. The taxi is composed of two main parts – an undercarriage and a cabin. The car is driven by two electric motors, which are integrated, into the rear wheels. To ensure maximum mileage, the car will be

Futuristic Taxi DesignDesign by Damian Lucaciu, RMIT Industrial Design, Final year project, 2008

Student designer Damian Lucaciu from the RMIT University, Australia, has envisioned the future of taxis, which unlike today will be more ecofriendly and sport the best in eco-technology. The designer has carefully addressed the needs of an average Australian passenger in the year 2020 in a car he calls the Melbourne TAXI 2020. The primary focus of the design rests on being green, practical, comfortable and above all passenger-friendly.- http://fuelcellsworks.com/news/2009/06/08/taxi-2020-hopes-to-green-australian-streets-with-fuel-cells-and-solar-power/

built from lightweight materials. Kubik believes that the car can do 90kmh and can operate for 20 hours without a recharge. Whenever a person needs a ride, he/she will have to call the Robo Taxi operator who will then scan the system for the nearest taxi and direct it to your location. The users can then set their destination by using the in-built touch panel for a safe and comfortable journey.

Guided transport DesignProfessor Martin Lowson, the man behind the electronic pod, said, “They could have the same effect on transport this century as the rocket had on the 19th.”

http://www.protouchblog.co.uk/2009/08/the-taxi-of-tomorrow/

ConceptsVarious designs from the internet. All images from http://www.designboom.com/weblog/cat/16/view/6797/taxis-of-the-future.html - unless otherwise mentioned.

Also