Developed at Otherlab in San Francisco, CA (www.otherlab.com)
Design Question: Design and build a functional prototype of a concept electric vehicle that is wheelchair accessible and fits within a 1.3m x 2m x 1.4m box.
Description: Lightfoot Electric is an exploration into the functional potential of small electric cars. With an open prompt and nimble team, we scoured the entire landscape of small vehicles and identified Safety, Efficiency, and Accessibility as areas of opportunity. We were interested in developing a car that would make a play into the Neighborhood Electric Vehicle (NEV) market in the United States.
The Lightfoot vehicle is wheel-chair accessible thanks to an active air suspension system that allows the vehicle to lower all the way to the ground. Two hub motors eliminate the need for a transmission, so floor is flat and spacious to allow for maneuverability by a wheelchair user.
The vehicle is massively efficient, with an energy expenditure over a standard drive cycle of 130Wh/Mile (one third of a typical electric car). With such low energy usage, solar power is a viable option. Lightfoot is outfitted with nearly 500W of solar power, which leads to about 10 miles of range on a typical San Francisco day (nearly 30 miles on a sunny day in Palm Springs).
Finally, safety is the primary concern of drivers (and potential drivers) of very small cars, so we designed a foam composite body with a steel skeleton that is exceptionally good at absorbing energy in an impact for its weight. The body is designed like a motorcycle helmet around the whole car.
‘Alpha’ (in the orange) is drivable for testing powertrain, energy consumption, and suspension, and ‘Beta’ (in the black) is an interior study and foam body prototype.
Team: 3-5 People
Role: There were many hats: Concept generation participant. Final body design. Aerodynamics analysis. Energy and solar calculation and modeling. Suspension modeling and design. Safety analysis and design.