What if Audi made public transport? This Movin’On Challenge Design concept blurs the lines between luxury and utility – Yanko Design

Have you ever looked around while stuck in traffic and found yourself surrounded by big cars with only one, maybe two people inside? Personal ownership of transportation is great for society, but not so great for the actual environment in which our society exists. However, it’s hard to shake the notion that bigger and more expensive cars make you look like you belong to a certain stratum of society. For Marko Petrovic, designer and founder of MarkDesignStudio, the answer was simple: to make luxury eco-friendly, simply blur the line between luxury and utility. People will love to use public transportation if it looks good and has the badge of Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz or any other brand. If the only barrier to the mass adoption of public transportation was simply that private cars looked better and felt more premium, the solution was obvious. Make utilities look and feel amazing!

The NTU (NewTransportationUtility) Concept is an entry to this year’s Movin’On Design Challenge (formerly the Michelin Design Challenge), which is based on its motto “Balance Sustainability”. The concept focuses on the three recognized pillars of sustainability: PEOPLE, PROFITS and PLANET. While transportation exists in three modes: land, air, and water, Petrovic’s concept is predominantly focused on land, but can easily be transferred to other areas of transportation. People and the planet will benefit simply through the combination of creating an efficient utility that the public would love to use. The Concept NTU seats six people in a transparent capsule that is transported on an electric platform powered by solar energy. This capsule concept uses space efficiently by ensuring you never travel empty and uses fixed routes, much like a tram or rail system, creating a powerful centralized service that runs on clean energy. How does the benefit affect? Well, these transport pods are directly created by the brands, which are not focused on personal property but on public service. Brands can further expand their offerings by providing personalization packages for the car experience and user interface.

Designer: Marko Petrovic

Click here to visit the Moven’On Challenge Design Website for more information on the 2023 Challenge.
Click here to see all the 2022 challenge winners.

The Concept NTU can be divided into three separate parts: the frame, the polycarbonate cockpit, and the engine arms. The frame itself is a lightweight yet robust structure that houses the entire car inside. “The main inspiration and idea is to recycle plastic waste and combine it with reinforced nanotechnology and carbon fiber to create a strong and light-wave chassis for future models,” says Petrovic.

The polycarbonate cockpit is its own unique entity, existing as a separate unit waiting in locations throughout the city and docking into any empty NTU frame that comes along. It also features transparent screens laser-embedded into the polycarbonate that come to life to form “a giant computer inside glass/polycarbonate.” This, in turn, serves the dual purpose of being not only the user interface for the car’s passengers, but also the projection of holograms of the car brands visible to people outside.

The motor arm is where all the futuristic magic of Concept NTU lies, which relies on Tesla’s wireless power transmission systems rather than traditional fuel tanks or lithium-ion batteries. “Inside the arms/pillars is also a powerful computer with an electric motor and track system instead of the classic circular tire,” explains Petrovic. The Motor Arms wirelessly draw power from nearby power plants, but it goes even further by sharing unused power with other power plants and NTU vehicles in the vicinity to create an efficient distributed wireless power network.

Currently in its 23rd edition, the Movin’On Challenge Design (in which participation is free) is now open for entries until the contest deadline of February 28, 2023. Entries will be judged by a prestigious international jury comprised of chief designers for leading mobility organisations. Winners of the 23rd Movin’On Challenge design will be revealed at the Movin’On Summit in June 2023. This year, three entries will be submitted to win the gold, silver and bronze positions and, as an addition to its existing format, the Top 3 winners will have the opportunity to meet with the Movin’On Challenge design team and jury representatives to review their entries, portfolio and race plans. To read more about this year’s edition of the Movin’On Challenge Design, click here.

Michelin Challenge Design was established in 2001 and changed its name to Movin’On Challenge Design in 2020, reflecting its integration as a featured program of the Movin’On Summit, the world’s leading gathering for sustainable mobility. Inspired by Michelin, the Summit brings together large companies, startups, public and academic authorities, NGOs and international organizations, as well as a community of experts and professionals to move from ambition to action. “We are encouraged by the continued growth in global participation in the Challenge Design program, and we are especially excited this year to see participants emphasizing the sustainable aspects of their mobility solutions,” said Kimbrelly Kegler, president of Movin’On Challenge. . Design.

Click here to visit the Moven’On Challenge Design Website for more information on the 2023 Challenge.
Click here to see all the 2022 challenge winners.