Faraday Future SP01 Is an Autonomous Trimaran Designed for Arctic Cruising

The world is a big place, folks. But it’s also starting to feel like the space around us is getting tighter. It is, no doubt about that. People just seem to procreate like rabbits and occupy more and more space. In doing so we are beginning to move into less established areas.

One of the first places that people will venture to is the Arctic. Here we find pristine landscapes devoid of much human settling. It’s always been an unforgiving place that has always kept all but the most daring explorers out of it. But with rising global temperatures, this landscape is beginning to unfurl and allowing for development.

A growing occupation of this territory is also bringing with it more and more activities to be had. From tourism to scientific studies, the Arctic is poppin folks!

It’s with this idea in mind that Elizaveta Panina created the autonomous trimaran Faraday Future SP01. At the time, she conceptualized this vessel she was a student at the Stroganov Moscow State Academy of Arts and Industry.

This concept is meant to meet a need that will be revealed in the very near future. The Arctic is growing in population and so a taxi service will be needed between points of interest. So this beautiful trimaran is not your usual luxury vessel, but she does have a few tricks of her own.

The initial design is that of a trimaran ship, offering a sleek and modern design coupled with functionality. The reason behind a trimaran design is simple, speed. The classic mono-hull ships have a very large surface area that comes in contact with water, thus increasing the amount of friction between the two surfaces leading to lower speeds. The trimaran design eliminates a large amount of that surface area and are typically faster that mono-hull designs by about 25 percent.

She is designed to be environmentally friendly and what better way to do that for a sea-faring vessel than with a sail? The use of a sail keeps energy consumption to a minimum. But we can’t always rely on mind to get us going. Sometimes wind just takes an afternoon nap. Knowing this, it seems that Elizaveta designed the Faraday with space for solar panels.

The solar panels can be seen as four huge sheets atop the trimaran. One each side of the main hull are two platforms that hold the outrigger hulls in place. It’s atop these arms that find the solar panels, clearly marked with do not step signs. These panels power two azimuth thrusters that allow for 360-degree control.

At the front of the ship we see a sharp design meant to cut through water, while at the rear we see a wider design. Marked with a red outline, this area is also a door to allow access onto the vessel. Atop this access door is a small platform that allows passengers to view the scenery.

The interior designs show a dining space equipped with lounging spaces, four rooms prepared with single beds and even space for a bike, motorcycle, and even a car. So she can definitely ferry a few things across the waters when needed and does it rather comfortably and quietly.

And finally, she’s designed to be autonomous. No pilot, no steering wheel, nothing. Just some in-house software that picks up your destination from the app on your phone and just gets it done without human influence.

Seeing as how technology is basically ready to put something like this together, it’s only a matter of time until someone thinks of doing an Arctic ferry service in such a style.