Project Goal — The group of people who want to drive is shrinking. And the group of people who want convenience is growing. In 2019, 99P Labs, backed by Honda and The Ohio State University approached Columbus College of Art & Design with a specific challenge: to reimagine a shared mobility vehicle that fits the needs of three key customers: millennials, older adults, and rideshare service providers. The outcomes would include research on these demographics and a real-life prototype, called a “buck” in the automotive industry.
And in the spirit of creative collaboration, CCAD students and faculty were ready and willing to take on the task.
The work was done over the course of five semesters (with students logging more than 11,000 hours of design work) through CCAD’s Corporate & Community Partnerships program, which connects with forward-thinking organizations to create collaborative learning partnerships with CCAD’s expert faculty, talented students, and skilled alumni to solve the real-world challenges of today and tomorrow.
And in the spirit of creative collaboration, CCAD students and faculty were ready and willing to take on the task.
The work was done over the course of five semesters (with students logging more than 11,000 hours of design work) through CCAD’s Corporate & Community Partnerships program, which connects with forward-thinking organizations to create collaborative learning partnerships with CCAD’s expert faculty, talented students, and skilled alumni to solve the real-world challenges of today and tomorrow.
The takeaways
The students’ research unveiled valuable insights for 99P, some that their team had never considered before.
The research showed that Millennials are less interested in owning their own vehicle and prefer to use their commute to decompress. Older adults want to maintain their independence when they don’t feel comfortable driving. Even so, the students discovered, there remains an element of fear—presently overlooked by the industry—connected with autonomous vehicles. Their solution? Replace the driver with an attendant who responds to the needs of the passengers through an app, providing riders with an enhanced sense of security and confidence. The soul of the new vehicle concept is trust, control, and dignity.
Additionally, through interviews and observations at the Consumer Electronics Show, students learned that industry leaders were framing their vision of the future with the assumption that all users would connect with their particular brands, rather than choose from a variety of options as they do now in their own mobility decisions.
The research showed that Millennials are less interested in owning their own vehicle and prefer to use their commute to decompress. Older adults want to maintain their independence when they don’t feel comfortable driving. Even so, the students discovered, there remains an element of fear—presently overlooked by the industry—connected with autonomous vehicles. Their solution? Replace the driver with an attendant who responds to the needs of the passengers through an app, providing riders with an enhanced sense of security and confidence. The soul of the new vehicle concept is trust, control, and dignity.
Additionally, through interviews and observations at the Consumer Electronics Show, students learned that industry leaders were framing their vision of the future with the assumption that all users would connect with their particular brands, rather than choose from a variety of options as they do now in their own mobility decisions.
Collin Williams, Bona Park, Jillian Farris, and myself were picked from to help bring life to the autonomous vehicle. We helped identify what are the current roadblocks to autonomous development, unspoken language of shared mobility, and gather data to help create the branding of Meraki.
Meraki [may-rah-kee] (adjective) This is a word that modern Greeks often use to describe doing something with soul, creativity, or love -- when you put "something of yourself" into what you're doing, whatever it may be.
Another role of mine was overlooking the motion graphics creating screen transitions and storyboarding for our environmental video showcased at the live presentation.
Ryan McManus, CEO of SHARE Mobility, says CCAD students’ work blew him away.
“It was an audacious plan to create a concept vehicle,” says McManus. “But the students did it—and they produced much more than that. They considered where transportation is going and designed a holistic experience for those who are always passengers. It is encouraging to see the compassion and humanity that the students applied with physical and experiential design.”
