i3 - November/December 2016 - 32

analysis of a three-dimensional scan of
the athlete in his or her own existing
chair (using computational fluid
dynamics). Then they designed a new
chair form to improve the aerodynamics. They also produced a stiffer
chassis, because chassis flex steals
energy, "and what you want is
the most efficient transfer of the
athlete's power into wheel rotation,"
Cratthiola says. Finally, to achieve
customization and fit, BMW
Designworks took inspiration from
auto racing and made a custom mold
of each athlete sitting that became the
cockpit of the chair. "That allowed the
athlete to lock in and become one
with the wheelchair," he declares.
BMW Designworks also devised
custom gloves for each athlete, used
to spin the wheels, from an ABS-like
plastic that is more durable than
the putty-based gloves used in the
Paralympics.
Cross-fertilization is at the core of
BMW Designworks. "In leveraging
these projects with outside industries,
we take best practices and expertise
gained from BMW and use it to help
our clients, but we also learn new
technologies and trends from other
industries and then bring that back to
BMW and see how that might affect
future auto designs," Cratthiola says.
Land Rover has also brought its
expertise to sports, allying with the

Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) team in the
2016-17 America's Cup sailboat races.
In a venture named Land Rover BAR,
it shared machine learning technology
to analyze and improve performance
patterns of the team's racing boat; technology to improve the structure of the
boat's wing (used instead of a sail) and
how it responds to aerodynamic influences; and human-machine interface
technology, to improve how data about
the boat's behavior (such as speed and
navigation) and tactical information
(such as the boat's position in the race)
is displayed to the sailors.
Engineers from Land Rover say it is
valuable to see the use of their knowhow in a different field. Hopkirk says,
"They are learning from us as much as
we're learning from them. They're particularly keen to help us on the research
side. Because we're small we tend to be
focused on the here and now, whereas
they're a large organization with longer
horizons developing technologies five to
10 years into the future, and they would
very much like to find out where we
could develop over that timescale." In
long-term work with BAR, Land Rover
engineers may be involved in developing the racing boat's architecture and
structure beyond the wing, working
on data architecture and further
enhancing the business's sustainability.
BAR's boat for the America's Cup Finals
in Bermuda next July will be the first to

AUTOS AND KITCHENS UNITE
Carbon fiber and aluminum,
traditionally components of
high-end automobiles, are now
in some of the grandest homes
around the world, through a collaboration of Studio F.A. Porsche
(a.k.a. Porsche Design) and German kitchen maker Poggenpohl
begun about a decade ago.
When Porsche approached
Poggenpohl, "we immediately
said yes," recalls Neil Bailey,
32

NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016

president and CEO of Poggenpohl US Inc. in Fairfield, NJ.
Hand-built prototypes emerged
in 2006. Together they launched
the P'7340 - a ground-breaking
kitchen that features carbon
fiber and glass doors, pistondriven touch-sensitive drawers
that automatically close after
three seconds and aluminum
frames. It "looks like a kitchen,
functions as a kitchen, but is

Land Rover is benefitting
from its work with BAR
because it's expected
future SUVs will be
shapeshifting as they
drive on the highway to
boost fuel economy."

benefit from Land Rover's contributions
in the alliance. It will be launched for
in-water testing in December. Land Rover
is benefitting from its work with BAR
because it's expected future SUVs will be
shapeshifting as they drive on the highway
to boost fuel economy, though they may
still resemble today's models while parked.
Three years ago Jaguar Land Rover
worked on racing bikes with Team
Sky, which was entered in the Tour de
France, to optimize the bikes' aerodynamics, by testing them both with and
without the cyclists aboard in the automaker's wind tunnels, Harper recalls.
"But what we're doing with the boats
is at a whole other level" of sophistication, he says.
Since 2006, supercar maker McLaren
has been helping pharmaceutical
companies to formulate new medicines

unlike any kitchen you will find
anywhere else," Bailey says.
"It's very precisely engineered
and a definite engineering leap."
The carbon fiber utilization
was an outgrowth of Porsche's
involvement. In 2014, the P'7350
followed, featuring steel in place
of aluminum and veneer in place
of carbon fiber, at a much lower
price point.
"Both 7340 and 7350 hit fresh
ground," Bailey says, adding that
7350 has won more awards.

"When
Porsche
approached
Poggenpohl, we
immediately
said yes."
- Neil Bailey

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