Imagine a future where cars are an extension of our body. The VW Racer One represents this future, showing how technology and being kind to the environment can go hand in hand. It's set in a time way ahead, in 2080, where special materials and smart computers change how we interact with vehicles. It uses new materials and smart computers to give people cool experiences and achieve a real symbiosis. By blending human and artificial intelligence, it makes driving feel more natural and exciting. This car is all about creating a more emotional and sustainable future for people and the planet.
Disclaimer: This is an individual project by a student and not an official project from VW
During his internship at Volkswagen in 2021, the designer got inspired to create a new perception of the cars themselves. He thought about the inside and outside of the car as an interconnected - responsive unit and not as separate parts. This makes the car feel like it's talking to the people inside, making it feel like a part of him. He used innovative new tech like self-driving and metamaterials to make driving feel even better, more emotional, and more human than it does now.
The Human-Machine Symbiosis
This project is all about imagining how we can change the way we see and interact with the world around us, especially the things we make. Instead of thinking of objects as just dead and boring, like plastic, the designer wanted to see them as part of a living system, connected to everything else. The aim? To change how we think about cars and make them more like us, not just tools to get around.
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The designer used special computer programs like Gravity Sketch and Unreal Engine right from the start of the project. They helped him come up with ideas and turn them into 3D designs. The unique and practical design of the vehicle is inspired by the human body. The designer sees the vehicle as an extension of the human body, sharing information and communicating with everyone involved in the race: the driver, the fans, and the team's technicians. In this way, the vehicle becomes a tool for communication, enhancing the driver's performance by giving them a better understanding of their surroundings. It also improves the experience for fans by keeping them informed about what's happening in the race, and it provides technicians with more data to help improve the team's performance.
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During the development of the bachelor thesis, the designer created a new way of working that allowed him to seamlessly integrate new software based on AI technology and virtual reality at the right moments in the creative process. This meant he could keep his creativity flowing consistently, taking advantage of each tool's strengths at different stages of the project's development.
Conclusion
This project aims to explore new ideas that can replace the old ways we've been using vehicles for the past 100 years. It explores these concepts by focusing on racing, a deeply emotional context. Here, cars can acquire new meanings and alter human interaction with them. Rather than mere transportation vessels, they become extensions of the human body, facilitating communication between individuals and acting as energy generators. Through the integration of emerging technologies and innovative design approaches, the project aims to present a fresh and coherent vision of future transportation. Its objective is to shift perceptions of transportation and inspire novel design strategies. As the designer says, "The best way to predict the future is to invent it."
About Designer
Industrial designer Felipe Rojas Otero is a Colombian living in Germany. He is a working student with Volkswagen as an interior designer while pursuing his master's degree in engineering design at the Hochschule Magdeburg Stendal. Before this, he completed his internship and bachelor's thesis at Volkswagen, which both explored the usage of virtual reality in the automobile industry. He used mostly artificial intelligence (AI) tools like Midjourney and VR modelling tools like Gravity Sketch and Unreal Engine in his creative process, empathizing with automotive idea design.
