The future is a platform. The car is increasingly becoming a starting point to be expanded with different configurations according to needs. Today we have rather limited options, but the advent of autonomous vehicles will free up space in the cabin and give manufacturers the opportunity to radically change construction processes and form factors.
For some time I have been following the interesting experiments of Arrival, a design studio that has already collaborated with important players in the automotive sector (including Volvo) to explore the still virgin territory of the multi-purpose and autonomous vehicles that will populate the streets of the future. An interesting work, as mentioned, which has already produced respectable concepts, like this one spectacular tram for the recovery of German rural areas.
Arrival ANT is no exception, and fits rightfully among the approaches that show the transport revolution in cities that are too heavily trafficked today.
Voice of the verb to become
ANT is a modern electric vehicle that carries passengers one day and transforms into a heavy-duty roof rack the next day, changing both shape and size.
This freedom comes from the philosophy with which it was conceived: as a modular platform. And the facts the heart of the concept by designers Mingwei Liu and Benjamin Miller is in the different modules that can be hooked to the electric vehicle on request.
Developed with sophisticated but chaotic urban scenarios in mind (the designers cite the example of London) the design is ultra customizable to tackle both main roads (perhaps carrying heavy loads) and narrow streets where a smaller means of transport is more congenial.
The car of the future is a service center
The designers looked beyond mere commuting needs, and also focused on the utility aspect of the vehicles. They considered, for example, the needs of shopkeepers, delivery providers, packers and movers, entrepreneurs, sellers, restaurateurs and more.
A research that follows the megatrend of "living transport", transport that can be lived in. Given that the concept of "small car" will be overturned (the car will not only offer transport and little else), vehicles will become service centres. You can sleep, eat, play and work in them while they take you around.
To facilitate a wide range of needs, ANT can change shape and increase its interior spaces by three times or more.
The only limit is your imagination
ANT has several modules that can be connected to the main vehicle for a variety of uses. You don't need different vehicles, everything is done on the same platform. Agile and functional.
Let's say I purchase the ANT platform, or it is given to me on loan for use. By paying a fee (or an annual subscription) I have the right to add when I want one or more additional modules that make ANT what I need. The applications? Infinite, both professional and commercial: from delivery to mobile restaurants through to the transport of passengers or goods, nothing is precluded.
He is confident that modular and autonomous vehicles will play an important role in the future of transport. This is especially true as the population continues to grow and traffic is increasingly congested (there are already those who are starting to tax it). With modular vehicles, passengers can travel together in large groups, thus reducing the number of cars on the road. Autonomous vehicles eliminate the need for human drivers, which means that even more cars can be removed from our roads. These two factors alone highlight the great potential.
Let's see in what times, and in what form, this epochal transition will take place.
