Michelin Challenge Design - 2nd place winner

SIC Project by Aurelien Deleuze and Team, France

Design Team:

Aurélien DELEUZE
Pierre-Hugues VALLIN
Robinson MANCAUX

Biography:

Aurélien DELEUZE, a 5th year transportation design student at the International School of Design in Valenciennes (France), managed this project for four months in collaboration with Pierre-Hugues VALLIN and Robinson MANCAUX, two 4th year students.

Description:

We have chosen to realize our vehicle for the Rubicon Trail. Our goal, outside cities, was to immerse the driver in a place completely left to nature. The Rubicon Trail is a route which requires ability, asks to know his vehicle and to learn how to drive it and to be able to play with the environment. It is an immersive experience in a space completely left to nature, as well as a driving immersion and a real symbiosis with the vehicle.

To face this road, it is necessary for the driver to learn about nature, and to be conscious of the power of nature, to play with it and overcome his limits.

Here is a project proposal for an environment-friendly vehicle that enables drivers to immerse in nature and understand it better.

The city of 2030 will be fully automated and the younger generations won’t need to learn how to drive. Travel will be faster, safer, and urban areas will incorporate more green spaces, but in a controlled and orderly way. In this context, our objective is to get out of cities and use manual steering as a pretext to become immersed in wild natural areas, explore them and gradually understand them better.

The project’s motto is “Slow Is Cool”.

Both through the architecture of its articulations and its tyres, this vehicle provides great crossing capabilities while respecting the environment. The flexibility of its tyres increases the number of ground supports to gain the best grip possible on rocky or muddy soils. Unlike traditional tyres that allow only one support zone, this system provides several contact points to adhere to relief in an optimal way. The architecture of the vehicle itself is inspired by the posture of insects and more particularly the gerris. Its independent arms and 4 steering wheels allows a very flexible weight transfer while ensuring perfect stability.

The driver sits at the heart of the vehicle. As an extension of the pilot’s body, the cockpit is built all around him. It provides protection and intuitively displays all instruments and necessary information to safely traverse irregular surfaces. With the suspension arms, the two magnetic engines and various technical points of attachment arranged around them, the pilot and copilot are at the heart of the mechanical movement.

When traversing a rough terrain, the driver has a clear view on the wheels and the obstacles. All the essential trajectory information is projected into his helmet. The copilot’s role is fundamental to provide additional information and assist with handling the winch and the anchor points on the vehicle when a crossing is difficult. Finally, the electromagnetic engines ensure a silent displacement.