Michelin Challenge Design-TAF TransformAdaptFun

TAF TransformAdaptFun by Arjun Govil, India

Biography:

Arjun Govil, 25, completed his Post Graduation Degree in Transportation Design from DYPDC Centre of Automotive Research and Studies, Pune, India in 2014. He is currently working as an industrial designer in an Indian Automobile OEM.

Also an electrical engineer and a science stream student, he always had an interest in technology, ideas, innovation and development. On the other, he is crazy about the automobile world and being involved in designing and always wanting to know his new limits.

For him, Design is nothing but a self-expression of a user/ buyer. Every product seen has a story (IDEA) behind its development that at the end describes its user. And to make a perfect story is what we do.

Description:

In a world after two decades living, culture will blindly depend upon things which have its very pure specific needs. Like transportation that is only dedicated to work. But to have fun there would be a specific vehicle where People will pay their time and money to engage their soul and emotion.

One of the autonomous automobiles will be for Ladakh expedition where the destination will be Karadungla pass (highest mobility road in the world). People will choose this destination to get feel of nature at its extreme.

Due to mixed conditions of the terrain that includes paved twisty roads, gravel, sand and snow, the car body dynamics needs to be changed so that driver can push his limits with confidence.

Inspired from the capabilities of nature and wild animals found in the Himalayas, I came up with a concept that can adapt itself according to the terrain requirements known as T-A-F (transform Adapt Fun).

To enhance the sense of emotions, the concept is kept open with the single driver cabin to concentrate only on driving and at the same time to get more of an open feel (involve in the environment).

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Due to the change in altitudes, the terrain condition also changes. To make the driver feel more involved in driving, the vehicle T-A-F changes its dynamics. For off-road conditions, T-A-F contracts its wheel base to enhance the ground clearance and similarly for tarmac driving, the car can expand its wheel base through hinged joint controls by static electrical motors. This gives the driver a boost of confidence in such diverse terrain.

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The adaptable tires change its dimensions according to the surface requirements and this delivers maximum confidence to the driver. With the change in spoke angle that are connected from small motors form there center pivot of spokes.

The car dynamics control engages the motor to adjust the spoke angle that further changes the tire rim width. The outer Rubber is made of a hard compound material and center is the stretchable soft compound material. With on road conditions, the car width expands for maximum traction in fast twisty corners and again to have some fun in gravel or sand, the tire dynamics again changes and soft compound shrinks down to get more traction for hard compound rubber.

Similarly for snow or ice layer roads when conditions are slippery, the tire will contract to its maximum limits so that the only kink of hard rubber material is at the surface contact.

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With the adaptive body, the rear legs (arms holding the tire) connects with a kick motor (High torque electric DC motor) that has an ability to produce torque that can make the car jump at standing speed. This is when the driver wants to make the car airborne in sandy areas usually found on the way to the Karadung la village. This will make the driver adrenalin go crazy but in a safe manner because speed is not a concern now.

The driver has a helmet camera that tells the driver about the road conditions ahead so that the car is prepared for the next dynamic changes.

The car runs on a battery that is charged by a generating suspension. With statics, the charge production effect is from the vibration in the suspension – the charge is fed to the battery. On the top of the car is a solar cell made of superconducting materials that work in harsh temperature environments.
In these kinds of expeditions, the space for utilities is necessary which is provided at the back of driver seat.