"Out of Gas!" Green Urban Vehicle Design
"Out of Gas!" was a collaborative project between students from RISD Industrial Design Department and Brown University Engineering Department.
The goal of this studio was to develop a universal bio-diesel vehicle for commuters.
Coda
Logo by the Business Team
"Coda" - the name of our vehicle comes from the music notation, "D.C. al Coda," which means "to go back to the beginning, D.C., and end at Coda."
The name reflects the positive cycle between the bio-diesel vehicle and the users' sustainable lifestyle.
Image of Kisumu from Google
Two target markets: Kisumu, Kenya (left) and Providence, RI, USA (right)
The class split up into seven groups (Body, Business, Chassis, Controls, Human Interface, Powertrain and Suspension) to conquer different tasks and bring the vehicle together.
I was in the Controls Team, whose responsibilities included designing the gauge layout, the steering unit and its mechanism.
I was in the Controls Team, whose responsibilities included designing the gauge layout, the steering unit and its mechanism.
Gauge Layout Design
Design by Seungkyun Lee, Megan Chiu and Steve Daniels
When designing the gauge layout, we focused on simplicity and clarity.
Steering Unit Design
Design by Seungkyun Lee and Megan Chiu
When designing the steering unit, we paid close attention to human factors and space maximization.
The lack of foot pedals in the vehicle was another key factor that led us to incorporating a twist throttle and a squeeze brake.
Coda Final Concept
Drawing and model by the Body Team
Model by Seungkyun Lee, Megan Chiu and Joyce Pang
Coda Prototype
The following images show the prototype of Coda we built in class.
