Week 3: 3D

CREATIVE THINKING TECHNIQUES

Based on the concept of reduce, we had to come up with one design for an eco-friendly form of personal transport.

Using a few of the ideas and associations I made with the notion of ‘eco-friendly personal transport’, I came up with the concept of a thermo-dynamic bike. This would use the heat from your body (once you start generating it by pedalling) to run the bikes motor to either i) go faster; ii) have a break; or iii) conserve/store the generated energy for the return ride.

The bike would absorb the heat from the persons’ body in a couple of ways; from the seat and also from a specially designed jacket that the rider would have to wear (and plug in to the bike). The jacket would be engineered so it would still be of maximum comfort to the rider.

The Thermotion

DESIGN OPTIONS

Based on the ‘Thermotion’ as an eco-friendly form of personal transport, we had to draft 3 design options:

Design Option 1: Thermotion Duo

Function: The idea is to cater for another person on the same form of transport.

This ‘tandem Thermotion’ or the Thermotion Duo works on the same principal of generating electricity gained from the body heat of the riders. The idea of having one rider behind the other keeps the design streamline and efficient.

Materials: Lightweight and strong materials would be needed for the bike itself so as not to use more energy than it needs to. The jacket needs to be lightweight and functional as well as comfortable for the rider.

Style: Minimalistic, practical, eco-friendly.

Design Option 2: Thermotion Quad

Function: It would have the same fundamental function as the Thermotion (generating electricity to power the motor from body heat), but on a larger scale. This model is designed to transport a larger number of people – potentially 4 – all pedaling and wearing jackets to generate heat to power the bike.

Materials: Again, lightweight and strong materials are important – even more so for this design as it has to use more energy for more energy.

Style: I think this design is more about the function than it is about the looks! I would need to have a fairly aerodynamic style to avoid possibly being too cumbersome.

Design Option 3: Thermotion Trailer

Function: This trailer would be for a child and can be attached to either the Thermotion or the Thermotion Duo. The trailer itself would absorb heat from its passenger to give the bike rider the extra bit of power they would need to pull a trailer.

Materials: Lightweight, strong framework, with an optional waterproof cover.

Style: Aerodynamic