Mobilicity PPT by Capoco Design Limited & Innovation, RCA, United Kingdom

2006: California.

Scale Model on Display at Michelin Challenge Design™

Design Team:

Capoco Design Limited & Innovation RCA
Merih Kunar (lead designer)
Rob Morton (designer)
Owen Evans (designer)
Ron Saunders (consultant)
Alan Ponsford (project director)

“Mobilicity” is being displayed as a joint venture between Capoco Design Limited and InnovationRCA. With many innovative bus and coach projects across six continents, Capoco Design has unrivalled expertise in bus, coach & specialist truck engineering design. InnovationRCA is a new network set up by the Royal College of Art to link RCA graduates with business in order to create innovation opportunities.

The design team includes Merih Kunar (lead designer); Rob Morton (designer); Owen Evans (designer); Ron Saunders (consultant) and Alan Ponsford (project director).

Merih Kunur, Lead Designer
2004 – 2005 Consultant Designer, mobilicity vehicle
2003 – 2004 Research Associate, Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, RCA, London.

Rob Morton, Designer, 3D geometry & interior
2004 – 2006 Designer and CAD modeller.
2002 – 2003 Designer and CAD modeller, KKG GmbH based in Vienna, Austria

Owen Evans, Designer, rendering & animation
2002 – 2006 Vehicle and Product Designer
2002 – 2003 Research Associate, Helen Hamlyn Research Centre, RCA, London

Ron Saunders, Consultant
1995 – 2006 Director, Contour Creative Design
1986 – 1995 Design Director, MGA Developments

Alan Ponsford, Project Director
1977 – 2006 Design Director, Capoco Design

Description:

mobilicity PPT – Personalised Public Transport vehicle. It has been designed to meet the needs for mobility within the large metropolitan areas of future cities. It addresses the Big Three – congestion, air quality and energy consumption. It is a driver-less or automated system that offers up to 12 seats including 1 wheelchair. It will offer flexible routes and timing and by a demand-driven service operation. The operation is cash-less with the ordering of vehicles and charging for trips being via mobile phone.

The drivetrain is always series hybrid with a lithium-ion battery pack, but offers a choice of power generation. These centre on bio-fuel ICE, hydrogen ICE and hydrogen fuel cell. The system will use 50% of the energy of a normal transit system and the operating costs are also 50% lower due to the avoidance of the dominant driver labor costs. When compared to a car based system, mobilicity uses but a tiny fraction of the energy and road space of current solutions. The guidance system uses magnetic markers, backed up by GPS and direct distance measurement. The longitudinal control includes radar controls for obstacle detection and speed control.

The design challenges many current automotive trends. It has been designed for low speed and low power operation to actually match city street conditions. It has adopted small tires and wheels to minimize machine space and maximize man space. These small tires can optimally carry the required loads and the consequent reduction in brake size is suitable for both the speed of operation and the fact that the kinetic energy is pumped back into the battery to be re-used, rather than wasted to atmosphere.