Winners of RCA Toyota iQ Design Challenge 2009

Earlier this year, Toyota and Royal College of Art Students (RCA) have launched a creative partnership to promote innovative design for urban living, using Toyota’s new iQ city car as the inspiration. Students were asked to create an item that reflect the concept of ‘intelligent urban living’.

Yusuf Muhammad, was the winner of Living Room category and joint overall winner. His Yu Type design sits on the computer keyboard and allows ‘hunt and peck’ two fingered typists the opportunity to increase their speed and confidence. He is now thinking about developing the idea and hopes to include features like spell checking and predictive text to increase its appeal. Judges praised the way he addressed a social issue of an aging population within the urban context.

yu type design

yu type design

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MERM, Eco Friendly Modular Electronic Retail Minivan Concept

This most modern minivan must come to the retailers of present days. These small vans are run by solar panels and so they emit no obnoxious gases and so these are very eco-friendly. It has a body that is easily changeable and the inside can be fitted with different detachable modules which can be used to store different items according to the changing need of the market. Various items like frozen deserts, hot snacks, greetings cards, magazines and souvenirs can be kept inside it, as the solar panel on the top of the van suffice for the electricity supply needed without any extra cost.

modular electric retail minivan merm

Zhang says:
MERM (Modular Electronic Retail Minivan) facilitates a mobile retail market that could bring retail services and vibrancy to city areas that have been drained of intensity due to singular functional uses or irregular visitor flows. With its various functional modules and transformable car body, MERM makes optimum use of the space it occupies. The electric engine does not produce any air pollution and the solar panel on the roof provides power for all facilities on board.

With the help of a central information system, a group of mobile MERMs could greatly increase the efficiency of the retail process, and reduce unnecessary municipal input. So that MERM can match various sales purposes in different environments, the central container has been designed with changeable modules. These accommodate “Magazines and Souvenirs”, “Hot Food” and “Frozen Food”. Users can purchase several types of modules and choose a two-module combination (one for each side of MERM) that best fits their current sales plan. Modules are easy to replace by simply sliding them out from the car body.

modular electric retail minivan merm

When MERM is in driving mode, all the inner space is fully used for storing goods. When it’s switched to retail booth mode, the shelf can be easily unfolded for display outside the car, making adequate space for the vendor to stand inside. This feature minimizes the size of the car and thus reduces its energy consumption. Also, the compact size enables the user to drive in narrow urban streets.

Designer : Zhang Zhongren

Atropos : An Aeorodynamic Converting Hybrid Semi Truck

The smallest improvement to the highway freight industry will create a great impact. This highly efficient truck is achieved by the use of a diesel/electric hybrid setup, a converting sleeper cab, and its streamline design. The truck runs with high efficiency through the use of a combustion turbine coupled with an electrical generator. The generator charges the battery reservoir. The combustion turbine utilizes its thermal energy by the use of a steam generator throughout the cooling system, the steam generator also provides an additional amount of cooling, reducing the size of engine ventilation and overall body drag.

The converging sleeper cab sits like a conventional driving cab, but allows for more visibility. The driving cab rotates to allow for a better sleeping position, and reveals a storage compartment for personal storage and a mini dresser. While the cab is in the sleep position the drive pedals are locked out under the cab, due to the rotation, for safety. The seats fold down and together to form a comfortable memory foam mattress.

atropos truck

atropos truck

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Aston Martin “One-77″ Limited Edition

“Style” can be a small word for this beautifully designed car. It is surely going to be the world’s most desirable automotive art form. Marek Reichmann along with his team has designed “One-77″, a car known to be faster than any current Aston Martin. Whether you talk about the looks or interiors, everything is just amazing. The significance of the One-77 name, which won’t be used for production cars, is that Aston intends to build no more than 77 cars. The exact number is believed to have been chosen because of CEO Ulrich Bez’s belief in “lucky 7″. The ultra-premium One-77 fuses advanced technology with excellent performance. It is based on a sophisticated carbon fibre chassis with a handcrafted aluminium body and having both left and right hand drive availability. The owner of this amazingly designed car is definitely going to be the luckiest one.

aston martin one of 77

aston martin one of 77

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Gym Concept Car Inspires You to Exercise

The concept car design by Coventry University design student Da Feng is something that is far more than just a fragment of imagination. Made from carbon fiber frame, GYM as this concept car is called as a single seat concept car. This concept car is designed by being inspired by a gym as the car is more like a mini gymnasium. The adjustable seat and pedal are placed in a manner that the usage of the same makes the driver feel as if he is in a gym. So if you missed your morning exercise routine, then do it on the way to your office!

gym concept car powered by sweat

gym concept car powered by sweat

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