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AiGO – – GACHA project

https://youtu.be/4NWvw_RovKY
March 2019 – World Premiere of GACHA bus – which began in 2017 as the AiGo research project.

aiGO Autonomous Bus Design Project 2017 – 2019

aiGO (A.I- Go!) was a 1 year design project integrated into Lahti Institute of Design learning processes, with multiple teams working on this funded client project.

Project manager Lee Walton decided to separate the design process for this ambitious project (to design and build a unique vehicle in 12 months!) into 2 distinct paths. Both processes began in September 2017. In total 37 students from various year groups, and specialities within Lahti Insitute of Design worked on this project.

Path 1: User Centred Interior and Exterior design for aIGO prototype vehicle. 

This design path was taken by a small group of 2nd year students (12 total) of Vehicle Design, under the close direction of Lee Walton and experienced vehicle designer Timo Suomala (representing Sensible4 directly). The chief aim of this path was to create a 1:1 sized mock-up model of the bus interior, and to design the interior and exterior appearance and functionality of the prototype vehicle (to be constructed in 2018). The launch of the finished vehicle was very ambitiously scheduled for early 2019.

Path 2: User Centred Service and Strategic Design concepts, for aIGO steering group.

This design path was taken on by a multi-discipline group of 4th year Vehicle Design, Industrial Design, and Packaging & Branding Design students (25 students in total). This large group was split into 5 smaller groups who generated strategic product development concepts from in depth user research and detailed service design scenarios.

Some key milestones:

Kick-off to the project was in Helsinki on 14.9.2017 at the client Sensible 4 offices. Students were introduced to the engineering layout and ergonomics brief on 18.09.2017. I will explain results of each path in reverse order, as Path 2 was shortened at the request of our client.

User Scenarios – Path 2

A workshop day was arranged for 25.6.2017. A number of key clients to the aIGO project were invited to Lahti to take part in interview based workshops with our students. 6 Clients attended, and each client was placed with a small group of students. 25 students were divided equally among clients. Each group intentionally contained students from all 3 design specialities, Vehicle Design, Industrial Design, and Branding Design. Below you can see those client interviews in process. This day also enable all students to meet our main design client, the CEO of Sensible4, who formally presented the project to all involved.

Figure 1. The beginning: User Scenario workshops 2017

The client workshop yielded 6 interesting scenarios, but this was reduced from 6 to only 5 due to a couple of scenarios being very similar. This enabled us to propose to our client, that we develop 5 very different product concepts. Students re-arranged themselves into topics that interested them. Group sizes were not equal, as they were based on motivation. Path 1 participants were much more experienced 4th year students who were given more freedom and autonomy in their work. Only a few key dates were scheduled for check-ups on their progress. The end results of their projects were presented to the client in person, on 28.11.2017. Below are a couple of examples from slideshows presented by students. Figure 3 shows a ski-bus scenario- privately rented and controlled by a group of friends, and Figure 4 shows how the bus could be implemented in the city of Tampere for an older generation of users. An enormous amount of information was presented by 5 groups.

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Figure 3
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Figure 4

Prototype Design – Path 1

Path 2 was much more intense and much more heavily guided by project design managers and the client. Sensible4 provided CAD data and confidential information for their technical solutions. They also invited students to visit their office and see the technology for themselves. The process consisted of planning around the users, and potential passengers of this bus. This 2nd year group of students was tasked with measuring and creating dimensioned and accurate layouts for the ergonomic requirements of the vehicle. The client dictated some basic limits, and mechanical layouts, and students needed to package people around this. Creative ideas began the process, but the most important achievement was to build a wooden mock-up of the bus interior. Students started with a very rough layout idea, see figure 5.

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Figure 5 – Quick interior layout ideation

After client feedback, 2 different seating layouts of the vehicle were chosen and students very quickly constructed a full size wooden mock-up of the bus interior showing both layouts. This was viewed by all participants in the project, and our client was very impressed and pleased to sit in his bus! This mock-up was carefully measured by the CAD team of Sensible4 and directly affected the prototype layout. The design of our students was implemented almost fully by the client. The mock-up proved to be incredibly valuable for the design process. This mock-up was available for a highly secretive visit by Japanese designers representing MUJI. They were so impressed they funded the project, and later took over design management from us. Figures 6 and 7 show the large scale of the mock-up (still a very small bus).

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Figure 6 – Wooden interior mock-up
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Figure 7 – testing accessibility

I am unable to share confidential data in this blog post (regarding actual dimensions and design drawings) but I can share images of our happy client sitting in his bus design. See Figure 8. After completion of this task on 31.11.2017 the students began designing the exterior of the bus. The user centred nature of public transport design dictates that it should always be designed from the inside outwards.

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Figure 8 – Sensible4 CEO lunch break
Figure 9 – Young testers too..

Students from Path 2 were presented with information from Path 1. The crossover of ideas worked in terms of user research, which helped inform many discussions for the project. A welcoming and friendly design was needed, and accessibility of the interior was a concern. The process consisted of individual design development by all students, in competition with each other, at all stages of Path 2. Eventually the exterior designs in particular, were narrowed to just 2 key design themes. The students that created these were placed into an Exterior design team (just 3 students) while all others (9 students) were selected to develop the more complex variations within the interior design. Each lesson was conducted with our client representative design manager Timo Suomala, and some sessions included our client via teleconference. Just before creating ideas for the exterior design, students visited the client to hear about the sensor technology that must be integrated. Figure 10 shows that client meeting, and then Figure 11 is an example of a design review day, for exterior concepts.

Teknillinen%20Korkeakoulu%20Sahkoverkot%20Ja%20Suurjannitetekniikka%20-%20Lahti,%202%20November%202017/IMG_2754.jpg
Figure 10 – client meeting (sensor integration)
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Figure 11 – Students prepare a sketch presentation to the client
Figure 12 – Example ideation sketch

Final presentations of Path 2 were on 14.12.2017. Interior and Exterior designs were shown, and many details were discussed at great length (the whole day) with our client via their design representative and on teleconference. All materials were shared with our client at all times. The results (the chosen designs) are confidential and omitted from this article.

2017 ended with 2 clear exterior design directions (very subtle detail differences) and some excellent requests from our client, for clarification on a number of points. The interior design task is huge, and the results were fantastic in terms of range and scope. The task for 2018 was to finalize those we can do, and those that we cannot. Our client aimed to begin construction of the framework, early 2018, and our exterior design plans were planned to be developed into usable CAD data during 2018. Interior has a similar path, running slightly behind the exterior timeline.

Figure 13 – Exterior development in clay (client viewing).

This is about the time that our previous secret visitors decided to invest heavily into the project, and to take over design responsibilities from us (only Sensible 4 know exactly when the MUJI deal was signed). This was a huge success story for a start-up such as Sensible4 and added massive funding and expertise to the project. The later stages of the design were led by Timo Suomala (and not Lee Walton) as the design school stepped aside and let MUJI and Sensible4 focus on producing the running prototype for the start of 2019! Two of our students were chosen by Sensible4 to work as interns during the summer of 2018, to assist Timo and MUJI with the final design and build process. Those talented individuals were Jaakko Järvinen and Jarkko Salonen (see fig. 14). They worked essentially as the internal design team for Sensible 4, while externally the project was managed by MUJI Design. This proved to be an ideal situation for the project, but collaborating with a remote Japanese studio, while based in Helsinki can not have been easy! The team grew in size, and did an amazing job as the project came closer to reality.

Figure 14- Our bearded interns at work… (Jarkko left, Jaakko on the right). Image from GACHA presentation in March 2019

MUJI GACHA 2018 – 2019

Officially, GACHA is a collaboration between Japanese furniture company MUJI and Finnish autonomous driving company Sensible 4. It is designed to be a ‘self-driving’ bus that functions under all weather conditions. MUJI take full credit for design of GACHA (copyrights were transferred to Sensible4 from the very beginning, and MUJI invested heavily into the project).

Figure 15 – World Premiere presentation
Figure 16 – MUJI design image – mobile shop concept

The final prototype build of the MUJI GACHA was guided by Timo Suomala and design work was done by Jaakko Järvinen at Sensible 4 (Jaakko continued to work on the project well into 2020!). The conceptual idea of a “Gacha” was a stroke of genius from MUJI design team, with cultural and aesthetic reference to the Gashapon capsule toy craze in Japan. These are vending machines that give out plastic capsules with random toys inside (see figure 15-17). The idea was, that the anonymous and versatile shape of the autonomous vehicle created by Sensible 4, could be used to “capsulise” and transport anything, not just passengers- was brilliant and really sets the GACHA bus apart from other concepts. Toyota later revealed a very similar direction for their own autonomous vehicle technology. A versatile platform, not just one vehicle.

Figure 17- Inspiration of GACHA bus design. A capsule.
https://youtu.be/W0oxz9KpiIY
Figure 18 – Official MUJI video presentation

Results were stunning.

One of the most exciting parts of the process happened in March 2019. The vehicle project became a fully functioning reality- and was unveiled to the world’s press on 8th March, at Helsinki Oodi library. Thanks to the MUJI brand, and their plans to open a store in Helsinki that same year- the press coverage was extensive. Project manager Lee Walton attended the premiere, and actually got to ride inside the bus. After testing the initial interior mock-up a year before, the similarities were very apparent. Our project kick-starting exactly the right user experience and mood that made it all the way to the final vehicle. The bench seats in particular- inspired by Finnish sauna culture and community seating layout were a standout feature. This interior aspect was talked up by MUJI chief designer in his presentation at the premiere, referencing the sauna influence. The bus drove smoothly on our test drive, in snow and ice. The interior ambience was particularly light, friendly and spacious for such a small vehicle.

Figure 19 – World Premiere test rides- LAMK logo in foreground.

During 2019 Sensible4 have received many accolades, such as Start-up of the year etc. The GACHA vehicle itself gained lots of attention, and universal praise for MUJI design. The bus won a very prestigious design award, from the London Design Museum within the transportation category for 2019. We couldn’t be more proud, as our student’s contribution was valuable right until the end of the project. We would also like to thank CEO Harri Santamala for approaching us and having the foresight to involve our young inexperienced design students. We are extremely happy that Lahti Institute of Design was the first place that came to his mind when attempting such an ambitious project. This is why we do what we do- and the success of this project gives us huge pleasure.

https://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/beazley-designs-of-the-year/transport/gacha-self-driving-shuttle-bus

https://www.designboom.com/technology/muji-self-driving-bus-gacha-sensible-4-03-13-2019/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nargessbanks/2019/03/15/muji-gacha-electric-autonomous-bus/#24c85773a010

https://www.helsinkitimes.fi/finland/news-in-brief/17007-espoo-s-robot-bus-wins-london-design-museum-s-best-design-award.html

Figure 21- CONGRATS! MUJI + Sensible4 design team – our own student Jaakko is missing due to illness sadly

List of student participants:

Path 1

  1. Casimir Smitsmans
  2. Jenna Salminen
  3. Sarianna Kymäläinen
  4. Katja Efremova
  5. Daria Ivanova
  6. Petra Paatero
  7. Outi Saukkonen
  8. Inga Tammivuori
  9. Minttu Kettunen
  10. Emmi Putkonen
  11. Tomi Koskimäki
  12. Tatu Konttinen
  13. Mikke Leinonen
  14. Ruusu-Maria Laihonen
  15. Peppi-Emilia Salmi
  16. Sanna Jaakkola
  17. Ivo Mukkulainen
  18. Teemu Paavola
  19. Olli Koivumäki
  20. Sonja Esken
  21. Anniina Mäkelä
  22. Vilna Orrenmaa
  23. Perttu Susi
  24. Oona Räyhäntausta
  25. Julia Töyrylä
Figure 22 – Path 2 students with Harri Santamala CEO of Sensible4

Path 2

Exterior group

  1. Jaakko Järvinen
  2. Jarkko Salonen
  3. Nicklas Sundvall

Interior group

  1. Antti Tirri
  2. Inka Tiikainen
  3. Julias Ranta
  4. Matias Laaksonen
  5. Matias Pekkonen
  6. Mikko Huusko
  7. Mikko Leppänen
  8. Tuomas Tolonen
  9. Kenshiro Ohtu

Categories
degree show events news projects

STANCE18

A few weeks ago STANCE18 happened. This blog post is running late, thanks to our exciting process of moving our entire Design Institute to a new campus facility! More news on this soon, but by coincidence we are moving to become very close neighbours of Ace Corner and the Motorcycle Museum. This was again our chosen venue for STANCE18 and once we are based nearby perhaps we will be more frequent visitors? Ace Corner is a friendly place that always makes us feel welcome. This year our exhibition was quite small – more projects will actually be unveiled later this year – but we had awesome Ace Burgers and a few beers and celebrated another group of talented Finnish designers leaving us for the wider world!

The weather this May was truly exceptional. The hottest for 30 years in Finland and we enjoyed the evening looking out across the vast lake we have here in Lahti. STANCE is about networking, it is about making sure that students, alumni, staff, businesses or anyone in Finland interested in transportation and vehicle design can get together socially. I will waste no more blog space and will let our students explain their own graduation projects (useful to have abstracts written in English), and you can see there were one or two other interesting things we exhibited. Finally we brought back our Suzuki 750cc motorbike that the museum had donated to us! Our students had transformed it into a Cafe Racer.

We also partnered with our usual sponsors Rightware (of Kanzi UI software fame), plus a newcomer called AirShaper! Rightware helped us present our annual STANCE Award- given for our favourite project of the exhibition. There have only been 4 winners of STANCE awards previously, and 2 of those are working in OEM vehicle design studios right now! In 2016 we also awarded a special online version, just that once. This year a project stood out at the show- for exhibiting a 1:5 scale clay model. Ivo Mukkulainen received the 2018 Rightware STANCE Award for his tireless dedication to creating a beautiful Jaguar branded design. His reward this year, was a 4 month internship at Rightware design office in Helsinki. We wish him the best of luck with his career. An exciting part of Ivo’s project was aerodynamic testing of his model, in a wind tunnel. How did we achieve this? Well it wasn’t a real wind tunnel, just a digital simulation thanks to a new online service created by AirShaper.com. A special offer of €500 simulation time (using their digital wind tunnel costs less than a real one!) was created just for us at STANCE, and you simply have to follow this link and sign up to their newsletter (it’ll cost you your email address) and they could pick you to receive the €500! This offer is only for STANCE followers, and your chances are VERY high!

Ivo can explain his project topic himself:

Ivo Mukkulainen

 

Jaguar SVO Project 9 – Future Classic

The subject is a classic car of the future.

I want to show how driver’s passion can continue in the future, considering future technology and standards.

New possibility to drive on the race track and not to be scared about consequences.

How Jaguar heritage and design DNA will continue in the future.

Heidi Yli-Suvanto

 

The North Face Exploration Vehicle

 

This graduation project is a conceptual exploration vehicle that is branded for The North Face and is suitable for both urban and natural environments. A major goal of this project is to encourage peo­ple who have spent most of their lives in the city to explore and feel comfortable going to areas outside of the urban environment. The inspiration, and overarching goal of this project, is to facilitate eye-opening experiences in nature and inspire people to take better care of their surroundings.

 

Mika Niskavaara

 

KTM 360 Electric Motorcycle Concept

 

My graduation project is an electric motorcycle concept for freeriding and exploring urban environments. With this concept l’m going to explore solutions and possibilities for urban freeriding. l’m aiming to introduce new ideas to the motorcycle industry inspired by bmx and freestyle mountain biking.

 

Mikke Leinonen

 

Nissan Kirei – Future Classic

 

My final project is the future classic vehicle concept. The car is designed for the year 2025 and vehicle should win the Concours d’Elegance competition in 2050.

The main focus of the project concentrates on the exterior design of the vehicle.The car should stand out from the mass and awaken great emotions.The car has to be futuristic and there should be elements that make it a classic in the future. I have chosen Nissan for the brand, because I’m not so familiar with Nissan. I also wanted to choose a brand that does not have a classic car so far. The purpose of my project is to be a Vanguard for the Nissan and help the brand to create a classic car in the future.

I’ve tried to find elements and issues for the project that make products classic and iconic. The written part of the thesis consists of the steps of the project’s progress, brand history and Concours d’Elegance competition.

 

Peppi-Emilia Salmi

 

Trimoto – Endurance Motorcycle Trailer

 

The thesis focuses on designing a motorcycle transport trailer. With the market research, I strive to create a potential and useful concept for the market.

The result should be an affordable, lightweight and functional entity for fluctuations a Finnish weather conditions. The trailer should be able to carry two or three full size enduro motorcycles and their drivers’ accessories.

The thesis is perceived with a 3D model made by the Autodesk Fusion 360 modeling program and the physical 1:6 model.

Perttu Susi

 

Hukka Houseboat

 

In my Bachelor’s Thesis I have designed a houseboat for private use. It is suitable for year-round living in Finland’s varied weather conditions. The houseboat strives to solve the challenges of urban living in the future. Urbanization and rising sea levels resulting from climate change can affect the emergence of new forms of living in Finland as well as in the rest of the world. The houseboat I have designed is environmentally friendly and it is also suitable for going at the high seas.

 

Tatu Konttinen

 

Vator 27DC – Reviving a Finnish Boat Brand

 

The subject of this thesis is a study and a concept of reviving Vator boats with a new model and development of a businessmodel. Vator is a dead brand which used to be one of the biggest boat companies in Finland.

The procecution of the idea required research about contemporary boating and how it should evolve in the future.

The idea of owning things is changing and since boating is concidered as an expencive hobby there is no doubt that it wont affect the boating culture aswell. Major part of the process is to focus on customer needs and demands in the near future without forgetting a boat that suits multiple purposes.

Teemu Paavola

 

Mega Yacht Concept for 2040

 

This thesis is about future possibilities of yachting and new younger generation users.

Focus on this thesis is on future technologies and younger users. What is possible in the future and what do the younger generation want from their yachts. A fictional user has been created for this thesis to get more realistic end result. User is based on a future research. The design of this yacht came from the futures pos­sibilities and functions that user needs. There is no companies or any other contractors.

Thesis is fully based on a research and fictional user needs. Design is created based on research and sketching all the way to the final 3d model.

 

 

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Categories
news Russian design

2017 the London and Russian connection.

2017 was an interesting year for us at STANCE. Many of our students are out there in the wide world, making their way in further design studies and we have even reached the point where some are graduating at a Masters level. In January our lecturer caught up with our student at the RCA in London, and we were very pleased to see two more of our graduates succeed him on the course.

Thanks to some issues with a passport- our travelling to see friends in Russia was somewhat limited. Despite this- our lecturer Lee Walton managed to gain an award. Our students participated in a short design competition, for the PUSHKA Design Forum in Moscow. Their brief was to design an automated delivery vehicle for the TRAFT brand.

3rd year student Iiro Laine placed 2nd overall in the PUSHKA Design Forum design competition, and was awarded a certificate and prize by the Traft company. Iiro’s innovative but simple concept, proposed re-using existing transportation trailers with modern self-driving tractor units.
Highlights of 2017  (our annual graduation show STANCE18 will be happening 25th of May in Lahti, watch this space!)
  • Kalle Keituri, our alumni of 2015 graduated from RCA London, then began his professional career as a designer at Rolls-Royce Motor cars in the UK.
  • Henri Hokkanen our alumni of 2016, began his professional career as a Designer at Valtra Inc, Jyväskylä.
  • Antti Vahtola, our alumni of 2017 began his Masters studies at Umea Institute and this year placed 2nd in the BRP Student Design competition, titled Urban Arctic Mobility.
  • Hilja-Maria Kaitila, and Olli Seppällä both began their Masters at the RCA.
  • Mikael Serjala and Mika Karjalainen began Masters studies at SPD in Milan.
Categories
degree show news

STANCE17

2017 marks our third ever graduation year, and our graduates displayed wide-ranging vehicle proposals based on their own independent research and collaboration with industry clients. We still like to use our unofficial name and brand STANCE here at Finland’s first and only full-time Vehicle Design study programme. This year we wanted to emphasise that we are from Lahti (not Helsinki!) and that we are based in the small but world famous Lahti Institute of Design. Lahti is something of a motor-city in Finland, with a strong automotive culture. There’s also a bus factory based here. That particular place was part of a project to design and build Saunabussi (yes, a bus with a sauna inside) which two of our students were involved with. We were very grateful to have Saunabussi visiting our STANCE17 event! Interestingly, the first franchise of London’s Ace Corner Cafe is right here in Lahti Finland. We teamed up with Ace Corner Finland to host our degree show. Ace Corner is also the location for Finland’s largest motorcycle museum. Our event gave VIP visitors access to the motorcycle museum for free- and we thank the owners of Ace Cafe for that privilege. On the evening of 24th we presented our STANCE award, sponsored by our good friends at Rightware (one of Finland’s top vehicle industry partners). The award for best project this year, was given to Ilja Oikarinen for his innovative plastic concept vehicle. The Pod-Vehicle concept is an autonomous vehicle that owners can sleep inside- and can be owned, or even rented like a Japanese pod-hotel – for mega-city workers to sleep near their place of work. Other commendable projects included Waltter Holm’s Patria armoured vehicle concept. A very comprehensive and detailed design project, with the most accurate and detailed model we have ever seen at our institute. Two students, Antti Vahtola and Antti Alasalmi, returned just in time from Turin Italy, where they had been working at the Changan Automotive Europe design studio. They completed the Chagan Serenity visual identity concept thesis work at that studio. This type of collaboration with industry is a vital part of our learning process and we are incredibly grateful to Changan Automotive for all their help. We would like to thank Patria, Covestro, Lada Moscow, Changan Automotive, Rightware and of course Ace Corner for all their help contributing to this years successful projects and exhibition.

Mikael Kosonen

 

Police Multi Terrain Vehicle

The subject of this graduation project is to create a concept for a new kind of police vehicle for finding missing people in off-road environments. This thesis examines missing person search operations and associated problems and tries to find answers to these questions. At this moment a searching process is usually too complicated and public authorities don`t have any vehicles made for this use. Also the resources are limited, because effective search operations need so many people to join them.

Police Multi-Terrain Vehicle

Henri Helvilä

 

ORCA

This graduation project is about designing a marine rescue vehicle. I try to find the issues surrounding current rescue vehicles and concentrated on finding solutions to the problems that complicate the operations of the current rescue boats. The final product is purely conceptual vehicle and also my vision of the ideal small marine rescue vehicle. The vehicle is operated by one person, and it’s capable of transporting another person along with the driver.

ORCA Marine Rescue Vehicle

 

Joonas Peitsara

 

Militia Phantom

This thesis and the visual aspect of the project focused on the walking combat vehicles of Titanfall. These vehicles are called Titans.

The goal of this project was to design a new type of Titan for the Frontier Militia unit that is in the science-fiction universe of Titanfall.

The design process of this project includes a wide range of fine detailed digital and traditional drawings.

The end result is a super heavy stealth camouflaged assault and ambush Titan, Phantom

Teppo Antolla

 

Sampo from Kalevala

My thesis project was to focus on the world of Kalevala and bring the mythical machine named Sampo into today’s world in the form of a motorcycle. For those who don’t know, Sampo is a magical device of indeterminate form. It has been proposed to be knowledge, power, skill as well as material things, such as a magical mill, a counterfeit device, and a machine for minting coins.

My aim was to build a rugged machine, visiting the past and picking up key elements from days gone by. My project features a hardtail frame to make it low and to keep a retro feel to it. For example, Harley-Davidson fat boy wheels are used, because they give an impression of historic style, when wheels were riveted by blacksmiths. In Kalevala, Blacksmith Ilmarinen forged the Sampo.

Sampo Motocycle

Waltter Holm

 

ARCTOS

The aim of the bachelor’s thesis was to design an innovative armoured personnel carrier. This bachelor’s thesis is made in cooperation with Patria Land Systems. An armoured personnel carrier is an armoured vehicle which run on tracks, in which the crew can be transported. My Bachelor’s thesis presents a novel solution to armoured personnel carriers which can easily be adapted to other purposes. Purpose is possible by switching the integrated function module into the another function module. Function module options may include the evacuation, reconnaissance, maintenance and in-service module. Armoured personnel carrier is completely unarmed.

ARCTOS

Hilja Kaitila

 

Algorithms as designers

The topic of this graduation project is to create a design process that benefits from computing science by using algorithms and artificial intelligence as part of the process. The focus is on how designers can exploit existing programs that have a large volume of users (big data) and how research results can be applied to Lada’s renewed brand image.

Antti Vahtola and Antti Alasalmi

 

Changan Serenity

This graduation project was created for Chinese car manufacturer Changan. The brief was to create a visual identity for the brand and to form the key elements of their design. Our mission was to build a vision which presents Changan’s identity, giving the guidelines for the global design language. Our concept is built around safety and clarity. Changan means “lasting safety” as a name, so the story for the vehicle reflects the brand. The main theme of the concept was the interaction with water, having strong inspiration from a boating world combined with a Scandinavian touch. The vehicle is designed for the autonomous era. The user experience will be highlighted when there’s no need to drive.

Ilja Oikarinen

 

Pod-car Concept

My graduation project was created with the collaboration of Covestro, a company that produces plastics. This project is aimed at finding a way to merchandise Covestro’s materials in a new and exciting way. To do that I have chosen a future scenario which will address the issue of high density of people and unavailability of housing.

To solve these problems, I have created a vehicle interior concept which will provocatively highlight a solution and proposal for the year 2030. In this concept the interior is used like a Swiss army knife. It is multipurpose, where you can sleep, rest, hang out or drive the vehicle, depending on your need. The car can be rented or bought.

http://www.ace-corner-finland.fi
http://www.moottoripyoramuseo.fi

Categories
collaboration news projects

No Infrastructure – Russia

Hermitage MuseumVisit to Stieglitz Academy of Art & Design, St Petersburg, RUSSIA.

Eight months of planning led us to this historical moment. Vehicle Design students from Finland and Russia working together and getting to know each other, collaborating closely on solving transportation . After initial meetings in St Petersburg it was agree we would try to achieve an ambitious synergy of our courses and also a collaborative workshop. Somehow it happened in November of 2015. Our 3rd year Vehicle Design students and a special guest from the University of Lapland headed off on the 12th of November for a 10 day adventure in St. Petersburg, where we would meet with Steiglitz Academy students of Transport Design. First on the agenda, was to present our progress on a design brief that we had all agreed to earlier in October.

Presentation of "No Infrastructure" We began our visit presenting the results of our joint project- called No Infrastructure. We aimed to design innovative future transport systems for the remote areas of Russia and Finland. Next on our agenda for the week, was to visit many amazing museums and art galleries in St Petersburg, and to settle in during the weekend I guess you might say. We began our full week in St. Petersburg with a collaborative joint workshop at Steiglitz Academy, with the theme of creating an abstract artwork in one day, as a group. In total more than 20 students took part. The first one day intense workshop was created by our Russian colleagues Sergey Helmianov, and Vikenty Gryaznov. The exact theme was determined by each student group, based on a brief as follows  “Abstract dynamic form sculpture, with a descriptive theme of your choice.”. The groups did not know each other before the day began, and language barriers meant that communication was not easy but somehow they pulled off some very interesting and exciting work within the space of just that day. A winning project was chosen, and prizes of a signed model minibus (the designer works at the academy!) were presented. Classroom PanoramaLater that week our own teachers would set another 1 day workshop, created by vehicle design teacher Lee Walton. This time new mixed groups were formed to collaboratively work to design four different car designs for a future Hyundai Solaris. What is a Solaris, and why did we choose Hyundai? Well, midweek we had the pleasure of a factory tour at the St Petersburg Hyundai manufacturing plant, where a Russian build Hyundai Solaris car is built. This was invaluable research and experience for vehicle design students and inspired the topic of the vehicle design workshop. The broader theme was an exploration of differing styles of design. Four groups were created, with two groups exploring more traditional vehicle design practices while the rival groups worked on a more radical design philosophy. The one-day workshop created a lot of discussion, and again very impressive results. We ended our truly enjoyable visit with a sociable evening and we all felt we had made some genuine friends over in Russia. Lahti Vehicle Design department and St Petersburg are forming a close relationship for the long-term future, and we hope there will be more cooperative projects coming soon.

2015-11-19 11.20.43 2015-11-19 13.00.31 Main Gallery

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degree show news press

STANCE 15 – Vehicle Design Degree Show

On the evening of June 1st 2015, we welcomed a small number of selected VIP guests, to our exclusive designers preview night for Lahti Institute of Design’s Vehicle Design graduation works in Helsinki Finland. The Finnish car design community was well represented, along with our students and graduates. We made a special effort to thank the movers and the shakers, the people that have worked hard for more than 10 years to lay the foundations for our current Vehicle Design course. Our event was part of a larger Institute of Design exhibition, which we also took part in on the following day at Kattilahalli, an ex-power station hall in Finland’s capital, Helsinki.
2015-06-02 10.05.55

2015 is our inaugural graduation year, and after four years studying and practising professional vehicle design, we were very proud to present our group of pioneering graduates. They displayed wide-ranging design proposals based on their own independent research. More images of their projects will follow this blog post very soon.

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news

Toyota concept sketches at Toyota Plus -Magazine // Antti Laukkanen 3rd year student

Our 3rd year student Antti Laukkanen made Toyota concept sketches for Toyota Plus -magazine.

TOYOTA_Antti LaukkanenAntti Laukkanen 2013

Antti_Laukkanen_toyota concept_1Antti Laukkanen 2013

The article is titled “Autot- muotoilun kunigaslaji”

Read Toyota Plus -Magazine here

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news

Advanced motorcycle design and 3D modelling

Advanced motorcycle design workshop.  Modelling tips and tricks with Rhinoceros 3D modelling software.

Our lecturer was vehicle designer Heikki Naulapää www.naulapaa.com, who has been working with motorcycle design for years last with BMW motorcycles.

We have had learned basic skills of modelling with Rhinoceros last spring. Earlier we have been modelling small parts based on sketches, but now Heikki set the target higher. First we draw sketches from scratch or to be based on some motorcycle model what we liked to use as a reference for our own design.

Next step was setup for Rhinoceros, scaling sketch to correct size etc. And of course some Heikki’s secret tips and tricks that made modelling to be much faster and smoother.

After doing the 3D modelling we finalized concepts by using rendering software
for adding lighting enviroment and photorealistic materials.

-Vehicle Design (AMU11) students

MV_Agusta_Kalle_Keituri
Kalle Keituri 2013

Olli Seppälä 2013


Sami Kallamaki motorcycle concept
Sami Kallamäki 2013

Viljami Räisänen 2013

Markus Niininen 2013

Categories
collaboration news

Robot concepts // company collaboration, Probot Oy, Creanorth Oy

In fall 2013, for students in the Department of Vehicle Design at Lahti Institute of Design and Fine Arts was arranged a course in international design management, combined with a customer project in order to gain more practical reflection and experience.

The knowledge gained from the lectures of the international design management were put into practice in an exercise of concepting, designing and visualizing the use for robots provided by the customer, Probot Oy. The target markets for the designs were found all around the world, for example at Venice Beach in California as well as in Hong Kong and the Seychelles Islands.

The designed use for robots included for example gardening, beach sand cleaning, riot control, security enforcement and multipurpose cleaning solutions.

– Jarmo Lehtonen, Creanorth Oy

gardenbot_Pekka Puhakka
Garden bot concept, Pekka Puhakka

2014 Beach Cleaner concept, Olli Seppälä

Probot_Venice_Kalle_Keituri
Probot Venice, Beach Cleaner, Kalle Keituri, 2014

Riot patrol unit_SamiKallamaki_v2
Riot Patrol Unit, Sami Kallamäki, 2014

Riot patrol_Markus Niininen
Riot Patrol Concept, Markus Niininen, 2014

Beach Cleaner Concept, Viljami Räisänen, 2014

Categories
news

Visiting Geneva Motor Show 2013

Geneva 2013

The flight tickets we purchased in November have been burning in our pockets and now at last we are sitting at Helsinki-Vantaa airport, ready for the departure to Geneva Motor Show.
The upcoming trip is the first tangible contact with the future profession for the five vehicle design students sitting in the narrow seats of the plane .
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After leaving the luggage to the hotel we had a quick lunch. Now we stand in front of a large building, which has “ARENA” written on its wall with walloping letters next to a big sign stating that the 83rd Geneve Motor Show is exhibited inside.
After a long walk, past the exhibition of spare parts and whatnots and through long corridors, a giant hall dazzles us with its hundreds of cars that reflect the sparkles coming from thousands of bright spotlights in the ceiling. The moment is breathtaking. This is what we have been waiting for. And for a good reason.

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The first section is Fisker, a hybrid made in Finland. Cars are in their private stalls, which are surrounded by a low fence made of glass and a gate. The cars are visible, but out of reach. Apparently our puzzlement is still strong, as we march directly to the gatekeeper and ask to get a closer look at the cars. Whether it be our Finnish accent, our distinguished looks or our bold attitude, the gates open immediately and a friendly demonstrator guides us to have a closer look at the first Fisker Karma. After a thorough inspection of the Fisker, we move on to the next department, where we found that entry to these stalls is not a foregone conclusion. Next came one of the smaller Italian car makers, which had a slightly more morose bouncer than we had gotten used to. A closer inspection of the Ferraris was not meant for us this year.
8 hours flew by faster than you can say “Jack Robinson and a Bentley”. One can see and experience a lot in a day, but so much was left unseen. Luckily we had reserved two days for the exhibition. In the evening we went to central Geneva to dine in an Indian restaurant, and then headed back to the hotel for a good night‘s sleep. The eager anticipation of the following day made us dream of Rolls Royces and Aston Martins, but hey we’ve all had those dreams, aye?
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After our car filled dreams we head on to the breakfast buffet at the hotel. Over a cup of espresso we talk about the cars we had already seen, the cars we had missed and the cars that had to be seen again. The latter included multiple super cars such as the McLaren P1, Lamborghini Veneno and Koenigsegg “Hundra” and a few concepts, especially Kia’s new Provo which we regarded as one of the most interesting.

The hotels mini-bus, driven by Miguel from Spain, briskly left the parking lot and in an instant we were on the road to the Motor Show. The ride took us no more than ten minutes, half of the time we once again spent walking through the exhibition of spare parts and whatnots towards the light. I remember pondering that now that we have seen it, there might not be anything left to astonish us.
Boy o boy was I wrong! Since today was Friday, the amount of visitors had doubled since yesterday and hullabaloo was inevitable. Now that the beautiful light pollution shining from the brightly waxed cars was complemented with a ripple of conversation and frequent roars from the audience, we felt that the atmosphere was … well indescribable. This time we dived into the crowd like old stagers. All of us headed in different directions according to our personal interests.
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A rendezvous was set at one of the exhibitions restaurants, where we ate a delicious lunch and talked about the most interesting cars we’d seen. Topics ranged from Fisker Karmas solar panel roof to Toyotas peculiar tricycle looking vehicle. Of course we discussed about which cars we had sat in and which cars had the most comfortable and ergonomic interiors. Some of the less exciting smaller cars, which were already in the market, presented us an opportunity to sit back and relax as an offset to the feet consuming pilgrimage. You’ll get the picture if you imagine yourself relaxing in the driver’s seat of an Audi S8, while there is a 10 meter long queue eagerly waiting to have a brief moment behind the wheel that you are so longingly caressing .

SONY DSC SONY DSC

We were tired but happy as we entered our carriage which was taking us back to the hotel, where we freshened up and apportioned our treasures (a thick stack of brochures). After freshening up we were ready for a dinner and some partying.
Food was awesome as was the party!

Our return flight was scheduled for the evening, leaving us a full day to explore the vernal Geneva. We spend the day shopping and walking by the beautiful Lake Geneva. At 19.00 we were once again airborne and the return to the arctic would be an inescapable fact. All together the excursion was swift but very rewarding and educational.

GENEVA MOTOR SHOW – WE RECOMMEND