2007: Sharing the Road.
Drawings on Display at Michelin Challenge Design™
Biography:
Alex Chatham , 23, is a product designer with a degree in Industrial Design from The Rhode Island School of Design. He currently works at a consultant in Hartford, Connecticut. From his early years, aircraft has inspired him. The beauty and truth of aerodynamic shapes continue to inform his work. The Convair is a manifesto of this love.
Description:
The year is 2015, in order to stay competitive, all major US truck carriers have switched to a new breed of hydrogen turbine trucks – they’ve switched to the Convair Cx. These new trucks are friendlier to the environment as well as other vehicles on the road. The Convair was conceived as a solution to many of the problems facing highway trucks today.
One of the key problems is safety. Every driver on the highway starts to sweat when they have to pass a giant truck. It is like a wall that blocks visibility and is itself blinding in many ways. The advanced TV and proximity systems in the Convair allow the driver something new, complete awareness of their surroundings. A camera in the rear and two on the sides give the driver a view on a monitor inside the Convair. Those “caution wide right turn” signs on trucks point to another problem. By segmenting the train and making two sections, the truck becomes easier to handle and therefore less of a hazard on the road.
The shape of the Convair is also unique, designed to solve another problem, aerodynamic inefficiency. Most trucks today have flat surfaces and blocky geometry. Simplifying the shape of a truck body into a fluid form is an obvious, but still unused solution.
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