2. AudiEVOLVE
OUR VISION
To provide the driver with a system that
increases mobility within the cabin
space and effortlessly transition
between modes and activities in
autonomous vehicles.
PROJECT BACKGROUND
Autonomous vehicles (AVs) will
become relatively common by the year
2035 and Audi envisions car design will
focus not only on the driving
experience, but also the riding
experience. Important areas in
designing cabin spaces for AVs include
how people will interact with the cabin
space of an AV to perform many
activities including, but not limited to
driving. It will become necessary to
create a multi-functional cabin space
that allows the user to seamlessly
transition between the increasing
number of activities they would perform
in an AV.
This project was produced for a year
long master’s design methodology
depth course. My team was partnered
with students from Aalto University and
Audi through the Electronic Research
Lab (ERL). These pages show our final
solution, which was reached through
many prototypes in this design space.
3. The processes used to create this
prototype were lasercutting, milling,
waterjet cutting, acrylic bending,
fiberglass, woodworking, and 3d
printing.
The Anticipatory Chair. The centered
driver seat gives the driver maximum
in-car mobility. The highly sensitive
chair sensors read the driver’s
needs and intelligently sense different
body movements. The chair can
respond with a 180-degree rotation or
a recline adjustment. With a slight
twist of the upper body, the chair will
begin to rotate. With a push on the seat
back, the chair reclines. The system
also integrates a “foot actuator” that
initiates backward and forward
movement based on the driver’s force
applied with their feet.
PROCESS:
4. 4Arm Crutches
This project was my senior Product
Design Capstone project. My partner and
I wanted to focus on making it easier to
do everyday things like give a hug, carry
a grocery bag, or open a door while using
crutches. Our focus was on long term
crutch users, mainly leg amputees. The
design features a cuff that includes hooks
for carrying bags and magnets for the
crutches to attach together, and silicone
slip-on hand grips.
PROCESS:
The crutch cuffs were 3D printed, while
the grips where made from a CNC milled
mold that we then filled with silicone &
cured.
5. Chevron Board
This cutting board is made out of maple
and walnut wood. These fairly common
woods were chosen in order to highlight
this angular pattern.
PROCESS:
It was made by chiseling the walnut end
pieces in order to fit the chevron striped
center section. The entire board was then
hand planed, scraped, and sanded. It
was also finished with food safe mineral
oil.
6. This pop-up card was designed for a formgiv-
ing class. My focus was to design a light for
hospital patients that would bring some
warmth and happiness to dreary and
depressing hospital rooms. LightWell is a fun
twist on the standard get well card. Because
patients stay only temporarily, the light I
designed had to be something that could be
easily brought into the hospital and would not
get in the way of necessary hospital
machines.
PROCESS:
The pattern for the card was cut using a laser
cutter. An LED and battery are hidden inside
the card.
Pull tab to pop-up the crystal structure and illuminate it.
7. Polycarbonate Piñata
This project was a material exploration.
Its purpose was to show the high impact
resistance and optical clarity of polycar-
bonate. This piñata lights up when hit to
reveal the candy inside, which one will
never be able to get to because of the
toughness and durability of the material.
PROCESS:
The piñata was bent into its final shape
from a single sheet of polycarbonate
using a heat gun and lots of patience.
8. Hippogriff Robot
PROCESS:
This robot was created by a four person
team for a Mechanical Systems Design
class. The design requirements were that
it had to walk one meter in less than 15
seconds, walk up a 10 degree incline,
look like a hippogriff (half horse/ haldf
eagle), and flap its wings.
The robot was made from lasercut
masonite and its six bar linkages were
determined by using matlab to
optimize the contact time.
