Photo: Ford Motor Company
We live in a very different world than it was at the start of 2020 – and the current health and economic global crisis is making us rethink everything we easily took for granted in the past. Such as the fact that public transportation might now turn into a potential source of concerns for personal health. But every obstacle can be conquered with imagination, and the right vision.
Although not exactly great for one’s personal well-being in the long run, social distancing has become the norm these past months. We are now judging every outing from a different perspective, and this has had an impact on every aspect of life. Including the automotive industry, which has been deeply affected, and is now in search of new solutions to keep afloat in the long run.
One possible recipe involves the advent of mobility services based on autonomous, fully self-driving machines. As such, you could order a car that does not come with a driver, go shopping or get to work, all without the fear of someone else being too close to you for comfort.
Well, some people will always take everything to the extremes, so the “muvone” concept, created by UK transport design graduate Marius Lochner might be the perfect solution. This is, essentially, a self-driving taxi for just one person. Yes, hypochondriacs might rejoice, but the idea is not targeting them but rather senior citizens or people with restricted mobility.
The cube-shaped virtual concept car has a simple exterior layout, a minimalist interior, as well as an emphasis on using easy-to-clean materials that can be quickly sanitized in between trips. And while it may remain a study forever, at least its creator has a chance to make it into the big leagues.
This is because the muvone project won the Ford “New Norm Mobility Award,” a design challenge specifically created for graduates that challenged them to find innovative solutions to “mobility concepts, ideas and solutions that address the new scenarios” caused by the worldwide health threat.
And while the £1,000 (€1,120 / $1,298) cash prize is mostly symbolic, the real award for Lochner will be the full semester of tutoring from Ford of Europe chief designers Ernst Reim and Sonja Vandenberk, two of the members of the jury that granted him the win.
One possible recipe involves the advent of mobility services based on autonomous, fully self-driving machines. As such, you could order a car that does not come with a driver, go shopping or get to work, all without the fear of someone else being too close to you for comfort.
Well, some people will always take everything to the extremes, so the “muvone” concept, created by UK transport design graduate Marius Lochner might be the perfect solution. This is, essentially, a self-driving taxi for just one person. Yes, hypochondriacs might rejoice, but the idea is not targeting them but rather senior citizens or people with restricted mobility.
The cube-shaped virtual concept car has a simple exterior layout, a minimalist interior, as well as an emphasis on using easy-to-clean materials that can be quickly sanitized in between trips. And while it may remain a study forever, at least its creator has a chance to make it into the big leagues.
This is because the muvone project won the Ford “New Norm Mobility Award,” a design challenge specifically created for graduates that challenged them to find innovative solutions to “mobility concepts, ideas and solutions that address the new scenarios” caused by the worldwide health threat.
And while the £1,000 (€1,120 / $1,298) cash prize is mostly symbolic, the real award for Lochner will be the full semester of tutoring from Ford of Europe chief designers Ernst Reim and Sonja Vandenberk, two of the members of the jury that granted him the win.
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