Coventry uni’s pandemic proof car of the future
A PANDEMIC-PROOF car of the future complete with screening and touch-free doors has been imagined by researchers at Coventry University.
You can summon it by phone, create your own personal space inside and even check its cleanliness via a special display panel before you enter.
The doors are touch free and open automatically for the passenger to take a seat in the clean interior and inside it’s all kept clean through regular UV light treatment between journeys.
The futuristic design is the brainchild of Paul Herriotts, Professor of Transport Design at the National Transport Design Centre (NTDC) and the in-house design team at Coventry University.
Professor Herriotts said: “It’s only very recently that the future of transport seemed to be moving from personal transport to shared mobility, whether delivered by a scooter or cycle scheme or more futuristically by autonomous pods providing an ondemand service.
“But the world is now in a very different place and what recently seemed an appealing vision of the future now seems less attractive with our COVID-19 awareness.”
Professor Herriotts specialises in applied research to better understand the needs of drivers and passengers with the aim of guiding future design based on this knowledge.
Key to the approach of the NTDC is the concept of ‘User-centred Design’.
This has been applied to answer the key question: “How can we design tomorrow’s transport to respond to people’s worries and concerns about COVID-19?”
The NTDC’S in-house design team has worked to propose new designs that are based on users’ requirements to “provide a transport solution that people can not only trust, but enjoy.”
The vehicle proposed by the NTDC, which is part of the university’s Institute for Future Transport and Cities, has a number of features that will appeal to those with COVID-19 concerns:
The importance of space has been stressed to the public in official communications relating to social distancing. It was therefore decided to propose a configurable vehicle interior that provides occupants with their own personal space, even when in a shared vehicle.
This is achieved via folding and sliding panels inspired by Shoji screens in Japanese homes. The user summons the vehicle via their own phone or device and can configure the interior before it arrives, so that each occupant has their own space.
As the vehicle approaches, it displays its state of cleanliness via a clear message on an exterior display panel, so the user knows it is clean and has confidence to enter. The doors are touch free and open automatically for the passenger to take a seat in the clean interior.
The vehicle interior is kept clean through regular UV light treatment between journeys.
The seats are designed without stitching or complex surfaces, so they are easy to keep clean and hygienic.
Some materials have anti-viral properties, so copper has been chosen to provide a handrail surface that stays clean and gives people confidence to use it.
The vehicle has fresh external air available if desired. With a nod to the future, micro robots are proposed that are continually keeping the internal surfaces clean.
Professor Herriotts added: “It will be interesting to see which of these design features enter mainstream vehicle design; if manufacturers and transport planners wish to gain passenger trust and satisfaction, research will be needed to better understand these issues and to evaluate these potential solutions.”