Ray by Heinrich Eisele, Germany

2007: Sharing the Road.

Drawings on Display at Michelin Challenge Design™

Biography:

Heinrich Eisele, 27, is a German design student at the Academy of Art and Design Offenbach am Main in the Industrial Design Department. He has been focusing on transportation design while in school because of his passion for the automotive industry. Over the past few years, he has participated in numerous design projects including: an Exterior Design for the Autonomy (Fuel-Cell-platform/GM) in 2005 and a child car-seat for DaimlerChrysler. Other projects have included the interior and exterior design for high-speed trains and an exterior concept for DaimlerChrysler V-Class.

Currently, he is working on his diploma project in cooperation with Honda Europe. He is planning to attend a masters program in transportation design after finishing his studies in industrial design in February next year. It is his goal to work in the automobile industry.

Description:

My concept is concerned with the question of how the visibility of a vehicle can be improved during darkness. Numerous car accidents happen during darkness because people don’t realize how close they are to other vehicles or they misjudge their dimensions. Particularly night-time driving on the highway or interstate is risky because headlights do not generate enough light.

One principle of my car design is a visionary glowing strip, improving the interaction with other road users by giving them detailed information about the position and dimension of the vehicle. Furthermore, the strip indicates, by changing its color, the approximate speed of the vehicle (cyan for 0-60mph / magenta for 60-150 mph). In case of emergency the whole system flashes red. Also, this strip holds several additional functions such as extra stoplights and turn signals.

The styling of my concept is inspired by concept cars like the Lincoln Mark X and MK9. It was my intent to bring the technical concept together with a modern interpretation of typical American muscle car design combined with a touch of luxury.