Photo: BMW
Inspired by nature and looking to solve some of LA’s traffic problems, the BMW Group Designworks USA created two vehicles in the spirit of the 2013 LA Auto Show Challenge themed on Biomimicry and Mobility solutions for 2025.
BioMINIcry was the first one to pop out of their creative minds, a vehicle inspired by swarm intelligence, deep sea creatures and jelly fish. In creating it, the team was inspired by water as a means of commuting around town, especially since LA has plenty of it, being located on the western shore of the US.
To go into further details, the BioMINIcry uses the LA rivers as a transport network with the help of bacteria and an electromechanical reaction between fresh- and saltwater.
The second design is called S.E.E.D. or Sustainable, Efficient, Exploratory Device for long. This device was conceived for ultimate explorations, inspired by specific self-sustaining species and extreme natural conditions.
By extreme natural conditions we mean deep oceans and high mountains that are still 90% unexplored because of their harsh environment. SEED was designed to travel into Earth’s most unknown territories.
On top of that, the device is also self-sustainable thanks to an innovation based on plant seeds, more exactly maple seeds, giving it some special abilities such as:
To go into further details, the BioMINIcry uses the LA rivers as a transport network with the help of bacteria and an electromechanical reaction between fresh- and saltwater.
The second design is called S.E.E.D. or Sustainable, Efficient, Exploratory Device for long. This device was conceived for ultimate explorations, inspired by specific self-sustaining species and extreme natural conditions.
By extreme natural conditions we mean deep oceans and high mountains that are still 90% unexplored because of their harsh environment. SEED was designed to travel into Earth’s most unknown territories.
On top of that, the device is also self-sustainable thanks to an innovation based on plant seeds, more exactly maple seeds, giving it some special abilities such as:
- Jumping: Inspired by the ballistic seed, the vehicle captures solar energy to catapult into the air.
- Gliding: Once the vehicle is in the air and gliding down to its destination, it captures the spinning rotational energy to use for its next jump.
- Swinging: In tight areas such as tunnels, it releases bioluminescent light bombs similar to sea worms to illuminate the surrounding areas. Flexible arms and tails are used to navigate.
- Protection: In times of danger, the wing is split into five smaller strands where a web is released to create a spherical protection bubble around the vehicle.
- Walking: The smaller two arms also generate webs to create a large surface area for walking on water and hard surfaces.
- Swimming: In water environments, the two arms act as mini propellers, while the wing swerves to mimic a swimming shark gesture for maximum underwater mobility.
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