Autonomous Vehicle Engineering - April 2022 - 25

MaaS
do is unlock the ability to have parity of status among
the occupants, " said Livingstone. In the occupant hierarchy,
" the driver is the one of importance, and I think
to actually have it so you're all on parity is a subtle but
significant shift in the whole in-car thing. "
Storing luggage, swapping batteries
The concept vehicle would provide luggage storage in
each of the six doors, giving each passenger a dedicated
luggage spot. " The individual may want access to the
contents of their baggage if they can, whilst they travel,
just as we're accustomed to on an aircraft, " Livingstone
noted. Providing luggage space in the doors also
enables easier loading, while the door " inners " include
charge points for personal devices, making them " very
much be part of your 'territory' as an individual within
the vehicle. "
Using the doors for luggage storage also helped
the Car Design Research team minimize the frontal
area of the vehicle and the width of the greenhouse,
helping to keep aerodynamic drag as low as possible.
The Budget Airline Car's architecture likely would
be a steel spaceframe with composite outer panels,
because the vehicle would operate at fairly constant
speeds, Livingstone believes.
" While you don't want it to be heavy, weight is
not of paramount importance, " he said. Steel-intensive
construction also helps impact performance and
moderates per-unit cost at the lower manufacturing
volumes the CDR team envisions. Flax bio-composites
could be an ideal outer body material, with the spaceframe
concept providing " the opportunity to re-skin
occasionally when you need to do so. "
Operating the Budget Airline Car like a rental
vehicle, from base to base, could make a batteryswap
system practical. The rapid turnaround times
would help operators control battery condition and
re-charging, and thus maximize the vehicle as an asset, "
Livingstone said.
One potential downside of optimizing aerodynamics
is that vehicle's exterior shape could become
less distinctive. Livingstone said this can be overcome
by using brightwork, color (via body wraps) and
lighting. " The graphical shapes that the surface design
can apply enables you to quite quickly make a distinctive
impression, " he said. ■
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www.techbriefs.com/CAV
AUTONOMOUS VEHICLE ENGINEERING
April 2022 25

http://www.techbriefs.com/CAV

Autonomous Vehicle Engineering - April 2022

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Autonomous Vehicle Engineering - April 2022