Intelligent Mobility (MA)
Jianyu (Andy) Zou
Contact
邹健宇/ Andy Zou (LinkedIn)
andyzouart (Instagram/ Weibo)
Physical Model Filming
1-min Design Video
Full design Video
Online Portfolio
1. What is it?
My project is called “Androline”——a shared mobility platform runs by membership. It’s a self-driving 6-passenger mini bus for 2030 with adjustable modular-designed interior.
2. What’s the issue?
The design focuses on the issue of improving the current traffic system as well as providing a better experience in public transport.
-Improving current traffic system:
By connecting and disconnecting between vehicles, travelers could interchange seamlessly and effortlessly. Since interchanging is happening while the bus is on the go, therefore it doesn’t need traditional bus stops and the whole transportation system improves its efficiency.
-Providing better user experience:
3 settings of interior layouts-You could have your own “private zone”, or turn around your seat and screen to have a private chat with your close friend. Or, if you are group traveling, you could all turn your seats to the aisle and face each other.
3 different ways of using the seat- In addition to sit like in normal vehicles. Androline also provides the space for standing and lying. As the average commuting time in mega cities like Beijing could be more than 90 mins, even sitting too long could be tiring. Therefore, with the provided “standing seat” on each side, the passenger could lean on it whenever they want to stretch their legs. Also, to put the “standing seat” down, it becomes a leg support for passengers to lie down.
3. Membership plus:
The future is membership. But only the traditional monthly payment just for traffic would be no difference to an Oyster card. As vehicles are going to become platforms,
Thanks to the big screen in front of each seat, the vehicle fits its purpose of becoming a mobility “platform”. The content could be ads, games tryouts, latest TV show previews and so on which does not just come from Androline, but also other companies like Netflix, Google, Apple or Amazon. Thus there will be collaborations between the mobility provider and content providers like Apple Arcade to expand the source of income.
Put simply, in the aspect of a customer, you could pay a monthly Androline membership just for daily commuting, or buy Androline + Youtube or Apple TV membership package in a much cheaper price.
4. Business model for future mobility:
This “connecting” mobility system will not only benefit customers for saving more time and effort, but also alleviate concerns about insufficient range of electric vehicles nowadays in the perspective of a mobility provider as each vehicle only runs a certain distance instead of a whole journey to get people from A to B.
More importantly, this connecting mobility system could be a standard for future mobility. Especially in places where no physical stations could be built: aviation, outer-space or Mars.
In conclusion, Androline is providing a future solution of service and business mode to both customers and companies to have a better user experience as well as making a profit. It’s mostly targeting on daily commuters in mega cities but revealing future potential in public transportation system standard at the same time.
1.How did I come up with this idea? — By observing how people behave on public transportations, I've realized that there are times people want their own private space for having a rest, making a call or doing some work, and there are times that they want to share the space with friends and family to talk about their days on the way back home. Therefore I was thinking, if there could be a way, people could have their private space, but on a public transportation?
2.How to define Androline? — Who is it for? Where does it fit? What are the key features?
3.Where is the potential business area Androline is targeting? — This is a key "market map" I developed after great research of all kinds of shared car services available nowadays in the market. People say Uber "kills" traditional taxis, the autopilot system will take over the original private market. However, in my project, I see the public transportation market will have to firstly take the biggest impact.
4.Initial sketches — I started my initial sketches by purely focus on the functionality of providing seamless access and transfer for passengers between vehicles.
5.Sketch development — Due to the importance of "a seamless connection" to this project. The design of how two vehicles are connected are crucial.
6.Concept renders — Initial renders give a general perception of scale, color, form and function.
7.Exterior interaction — These renders show the care of how vehicles communicates to passengers and people nearby in different situations.
8.Interaction inside the revolving door — The revolving door is the key feature to this vehicle so as its interaction inside of showing how people would transfer and experience. (You could see the details of info provided to the passenger like the interchanging time, final destination, next seat number, apps and so on.)
9.What you'll see while you are waiting for your next bus — This render shows the idea of providing access to third-party service providers to allow them do business on the surrounding screen. Because the passenger will have nothing else to do while waiting for his/her transfer, the interchanging time is a gold period for these companies to display ads, info or to help users check the most useful data like health and fitness.
10.Androline - Future mini bus
However,
Are you aware that more than 60% Londoners have to interchange at least once a trip for daily commuting?
Do you realize it could potentially take up 1/3 the time of the entire journey?
Have you noticed that Interchanging from bus to bus, from tube to tube, from tube to bus could sometimes be frustrating and confusing especially for travellers and elderly people？
Take a look at the Androline mini bus, providing a future solution for interchanging and a much better travel experience！
