Mobilotoop, a vision on mobility

Transcription

1 Mobilotoop, a vision on mobility Mobilotoop is the first cross-over project of Design Platform Vlaanderen. It is a research project that focuses on potential connections between people, vehicles, places and services that as a whole generate numerous new mobility solutions for all. Connections that will not only bring us faster but also closer to one another.

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3 mobilotoop Mobilotoop is a project of Design Platform Vlaanderen Realised by: Flanders Inshape, Innovatie & Design Euregio, Intrastructures Pantopicon, Vlaams Instituut voor Mobiliteit, Cultuurplatform Design Supported by:

4 This project isn t about designing a car. This project is about understanding and designing a networked mobility culture. 2

5 So the type of the vehicle is unknown. 3

6 But what we do know is the context within which the urban vehicle will be developed... 4

7 ... a social context that is no longer controlled top-down... 5

8 ... but rather functions from the network. 6

9 A structure within which everyone learns from (and teaches) everyone. 7

10 A structure within which design drawings are developed together by means of free and user-friendly 3D software... 8

11 ... and simple objects can now even literally be produced at home. 9

12 This has as a consequence that products (and so also vehicles) will no longer behave as static objects that are developed (and protected) by one person or company... 10

13 ... but as time goes by will increasingly profile themselves as dynamic puzzles that are developed from a dialogue with the community... 11

14 ... and which, thanks to their simple and transparent construction, will be able to be easily adapted to the different demands and needs of this community... 12

15 We also see that, once again thanks to the new communication tools, services will develop around these vehicles. 13

16 Services that for example will facilitate... 14

17 ... the flexible use or shared use of these vehicles. 15

18 The combination of these two trends results in the emergence of complementary mobility systems where hardware and software will continuously interact with one another in order to form an open and networked mobility culture. 16

19 For our mobility, this means that the dominant monoculture of the private automobile... 17

20 ... will shift towards a more heterogeneous mobility culture where the user will be able to smoothly switch over from one means of transport to another in order to reach his or her destination. 18

21 Mobilotoop wants to map out and visualise the new opportunities for both producers and users. It wants to explore what kinds of vehicles this new context will generate, what services will develop around these vehicles. and what the consequences of all this will be for our urban environment. 19

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23 Reflecting on mobility in tomorrow s city in a philosophy of open design How will we move in the city of the future, with what vehicles, services and infrastructure? How can we build on what already exists? How do we create added value for mankind and for the environment, for citizens, entrepreneurs and public institutions? How does this contribute to a city and environment where everyone likes to live? transparent, smart, social, based on mutual trust and responsibility, etc. Throughout the garage camps, these notions led to mobility solutions in the city of the future that together draw a picture of a new mobility culture; a culture that transcends the discussion of mobility as infrastructure, that makes a new economic and social model possible and supports it. These social issues were considered in the project named Mobilotoop that was conducted between September 2012 and December The underlying motivation behind the project was the conviction that it is important to look at how future inhabitants will live in the city in order to make their lives better, rather than simply looking at which technologies will be in place at that moment. It was the start of a design-driven process consisting of various steps with so-called open design as the core philosophy. This means that people and organisations share ideas and design concepts openly and freely without laying claim to them or protecting them. Anyone may use, adapt and/or improve them. From that perspective, Mobilotoop draws an image of city residents who take the tools in hand themselves to create and further develop their own solutions. This working method opens up a world of opportunities for designers, for the industry and for the public sector as well. This publication describes the process and the outcome of ideas which are intended as a source of inspiration. The objective of this project was therefore to give meaning to future mobility in the city. Mobilotoop is the first crossover project of Design Platform Flanders, realised in a co-operation between Flanders Inshape, Innovation & Design Euregio, the Flemish Institute for Mobility, Intrastructures and Pantopicon. This project was made possible by Design Platform Flanders, Enterprise Flanders and VIA The breeding ground was created during interviews and workshops with experts from various sectors (including sociologists, engineers, designers, architects and artists). A select group of stakeholders began working in three two-day work sessions to shape a new mobility culture from these insights. A red thread soon appeared, a series of core values around which the conceptual development unfolded: open, 21

24 November January 2013 Hasselt, Brussels & Antwerp 5 video interviews with key figures Core questions: - Which developments might alter our society significantly in the future? - What impact might these developments have on our society, our cities, our mobility? - What visions do they trigger? - What kind of reflections follow from a first look at Mobilotoop s underlying vision? Participants Jannie Haek (gedelegeerd bestuurder, NMBS Holding) Lowie Vermeersch (CEO & Creative Director, Granstudio) Steven Logghe (Chief Traffic, Be-Mobile) Matthijs Van Dijk (Professor Applied Design, TU Delft & Founder & Partner, Reframingstudio) Mario Fleurinck (CEO, Melotte) - interviewer: Nik Baerten (Pantopicon) Input draft scheme of Mobilotoop s underlying vision Output A series of inspiring insights and statements regarding cities and urban mobility in the future, as well as reflections on the Mobilotoop vision. 22

25 Process: 01. Expert interviews 02. Expert camp 03. Designer camp 04. Makers kick-off 05. Garage camp Feedback meeting 07. Garage camp Garage camp Project exhibition 10. Lessons learnt Interview objectives - Gain an overview of possible future developments and their consequences for urban mobility, as a source for the design process. 23

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27 Mario Fleurinck (ceo, Melotte) There will be as much traffic as in today s world, but the traffic will be silent. [...] Our cars will be smaller, even if we will experience the same volume in terms of interior space. We will feel much safer. Cities will breathe more. There will be more green in our cities. That will become mandatory. [...] dna spores of plants will be translated into polymers, allowing us to incorporate the power of plants into building skins, stree t coverings, e tc., enabling our cities to generate a healing effect on our lives. People will want to live their lives with the fewest asse ts possible, not because they wish to do so, but out of sheer necessity. 200m2 per family should be sufficient. The added value generated by 16m2 of a digital factory can be compared to that of 2000m2 of an analog one. ( We ll package much more value in much less volume, which will have a huge impact on transport. ) People will increasingly travel in an augmented way. We will be able to travel to a location without having to visit it physically. Technology will allow us to mould our perfect worlds and allow us to wake up, for example, on one of the Canary Islands while actually being in the centre of Ant werp. This will not happen through projection on walls or anything, but through deep brain stimulation. We shall travel differently depending on the phase of our lives we are in. Transparency of re turn on investment in the way we use space will change our cities and socie ties. We will increasingly see initiatives aimed at optimising the use of open space in cities. 25

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29 Jannie Haek (CEO, nmbs Holding) The key question is: How do we succeed in using the right infrastructure at the right moment? Because it is clear: new infrastructure, that isn t going to happen. Cloud commuting as an analogy of cloud computing. Young people will no longer worry about having a driver s license. The car will behave as a means of collective transport. Collective transport will be sexy, fashionable and modern. [...] It will be shared transport, ne t worked mobility that will keep our socie ty mobile. The phenomenon of people commuting every morning and evening, five days a week, will disappear. 27

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31 Steven Logghe (Chief Traffic, Be-Mobile) The percentage of non-commute-related traffic will increase. (In 2040) I will most of all try to enjoy my trips. When I speak to companies, I some times realise that 20% of their labour-related cost is related to mobility. New payments systems will further simplify things so that I don t need to wade through 20 different pricing models for travelling by train, and then again a different se t for bike lending systems, etc. They will ensure that everything fits nicely together. In the realm of leasing companies we are seeing the arrival of flexlease packages, that allow people to spend a certain budge t as they wish. Hence, you can use a small car to go to work 200 days a year, but also use a larger multi-purpose vehicle when travelling to the south of France for t wo weeks. Maybe you don t even need a car, but wish to use a bike or train subscription also offered by the leasing company. It strikes me that nowadays so many jobs are still performed in an office, be t ween 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., in the centre of a city, simply because control and supervision are considered so important. I still don t understand why so many IT professionals, for example, need to work in Brussels? 29

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33 Matthijs Van Dijk (Professor Applied Design, TU Delft & Founder & Partner, Reframingstudio) Speed is preventing us from making contact with people. This is irrelevant when travelling from Cologne to Amsterdam, ye t it is relevant near home. There it is about intimacy. I would like to reconquer that space. Some thing that has been over-dimensioned no longer fits this world. Overdimensioning also has to do with the maximum envisioned lifespan of an object. A car that has been designed to need an update af ter a year is an idea that fascinates me, because it allows you to create objects which are far lighter and simpler than they are today. [...] Reducing mass generates benefits everywhere. One sees an enormous densification taking place within cities. [...] This is an evolution that will not change in the nex t 20 years. The most human measure of mobility is walking. I think we have forgot ten of how to design our cities to be walkable. I am a huge fan of the car, ye t in the city centre it has become a hopeless projectile. 31

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35 Lowie Vermeersch (ceo & Creative Director, Granstudio): What we used to call public transport will feel much more personal. Each and every one of us having a personal car will increasingly evolve into a personal use of a car. In the future I see a growing divergence be t ween intra- and interurban mobility. I see cities as catalysts of changes [regarding mobility], which will trigger change and force us to change the way we go about things in the areas in-be t ween cities. T wenty years from now, standing still in a traffic jam will not be the same as it is today. To be provocative, I would assert that, t wenty years from now, standing in a traffic jam could become a moment of quality time in one s day. If we take a picture of a city today in which we see people sit ting on a terrace enjoying food and drinks, with a line of cars queuing up right nex t to them, emit ting exhaust fumes... I think we will look at that the same way we look at old pictures of horses and carriages and shit on the stree ts in the city centre. 33

36 January 16th, 2013 Leuven Interactive workshop with experts from a variety of fields of expertise, driven by key questions such as: - Based upon a first reading of the Mobilotoop vision, what underlying assumptions need to be fulfilled if we wish Mobilotoop to be both feasible & successful? - Which future developments (demographic, economic, socio-cultural, technological, environmental, political/institutional) might give rise to new needs and challenges in society in general and urban mobility in particular, and how? - How would we need to adjust Mobilotoop in order to successfully take these into account? Participants Baerten Nik (Pantopicon) Boelen Jan (artistic director, Z33) Decrock Philippe (Federauto) De Lameilleure Maka (Flanders Inshape) Deschamps Pieter (NMBS Holding) Lommée Thomas (designer, Intrastructures) Maes Johan (Recticel) Gautama Prof Sidharta (UGent) Rijshouwer Emiel (Pantopicon) Van Doninck Nicole (VIM) Van Loon Heleen (Cultuurplatform) Vincke Jan (UForce) Wegwerth Lukas (design student, HdK Berlijn) Input - Basic overview of insights from interviews - Examples of less-evident future developments worth considering - Draft overview & user scenarios as illustration of Mobilotoop vision Output - Overview of prerequisites for success regarding Mobilotoop - First set of targets for innovation on which Mobilotoop solutions could focus 34

37 Process: 01. Expert interviews 02. Expert camp 03. Designer camp 04. Makers kick-off 05. Garage camp Feedback meeting 07. Garage camp Garage camp Project exhibition 10. Lessons learned Expert camp objectives Verification and fine-tuning of the Mobilotoop vision based on insights gained with respect to future developments and their impact. Mapping prerequisites for success as seen from the perspectives of a variety of fields of expertise. 35

38 Input - user scenarios 36

39 I nput - user scenarios 37

40 I n p u t - u s e r s c e n a r i o s 38

41 I nput - user scenarios 39

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46 Output - Fu t u re developments & consequences 44

47 O utput - set of targets for innovation 45

48 Take-aways from expert camp In order for a Mobilotoop-inspired vision of mobility to function successfully in our society and cities, it needs to take into account a wide range of realities & issues, such as: access, e.g. complexity of information, finding one s way to solutions in an unknown city, ease of use, skills, platform lock-in (cf. technology partners) costs & benefits, e.g. user vs. owner / creator, cost of access, necessary investments for small businesses, impact on open model of free software vs. costly hardware, business models, free/for/not for profit in one system, different expressions of value (beyond financial) property & reliability/responsibility, e.g. responsible using/sharing, liability in case of failure/theft, damage coverage, perception & guarantees of safety & quality, trust time & space, e.g. co-evolution between solutions and expectations, necessary space for vehicles/services/infrastructure, necessary time to participate, local is not always synonymous with better, global vs. local dependencies, availability of skills & material, energy or infrastructural resources, coverage/scalability, climaterelated needs infrastructure, e.g. coverage, background logistics (redistribution of vehicles, components, etc.), knowledge sharing, places to store vehicles & components but also cargo/goods, information, infrastructural solutions complementary to existing ones, compatibility re: public transport, reinvent roads, independence vs. interdependence, diversity of vehicles/ solutions lifestyle & social status, e.g. uniqueness, personalised designs, I am what I have vs. I am what I can do : creativity & DIY as new status symbols institutional & legal context, e.g. legislation re: safety, access to/use of infrastructure, control mechanisms, taxes economic principles, e.g. descaling economy, socio-economic sustainability of model, mix between big and small players, closed vs. open standards, existing vs. new competitors communities, e.g. buyers vs. handymen, amateurs vs. professionals, DIY vs. customisation, community size, understand feasible ratio of active vs. passive users, cultural needs/issues and their effects on user participation/behaviour, trust & reputation, alternative currencies, individual vs. shared use, opt-in/opt-out companies, e.g. embrace & interface with companies, understand each other s agenda, establish clear pathways to participation, guarantee openness, platform competition, IP-based logic, new business models A quick scan of future developments heading towards us and having a possible impact on our societies and hence also our urban mobility, led to better understandings regarding the changing context that Mobilotoop must anticipate. Examples of future developments discussed include: (demographic) the ageing population, urban densification, the growing socio-economic divide, the decline of the middle-class (here), new family configurations, the rise of nationalism vs. multicultural realities (technological) big data, algorithms are power, safe autonomous vehicles, intelligent roads and buildings, acceleration of innovation due to openness of model, data-leaking, rise of complexity vs. powerful means to deal with it, agency of control, smart infrastructure/cities (ecological) rise of ecological consciousness, green energy, selfsufficiency, car-free city centres, cradle- 2-cradle (socio-cultural) new leadership models, improving personal vs. community lives, tailored education, multiple careers (even simultaneously), democratisation of knowledge and expertise, critical citizens, secularisation vs. rise of religions, rise of complexity, dealing with multiple identities on/offline, always/ anywhere online, new notions of labour, new ways of working, isms, blurring of boundaries between private & working lives, new notions of individual vs. collective identity, speed-of-change induced tensions, 46

49 people opting out vs. left behind, new values leading to new models of societal organisation, society of the & (economic) 24/7/365 economy, global market shift (e.g. BRICS), revival of local trade, growing skills gap between education & employment needs, multiple generations of employees working together, working longer, remote working, closing the loop, glocal economy, knowledge economy, delocalisation of activity & knowledge, idea fatigue vs. action/impact necessity, revival of craftsmanship (also in hi-tech), microcorporations & -economies, redefinition of progress & growth, socio-economic divide, redistribution of wealth, decline of traditional production (here) recycling, etc.) - connections between Mobilotoop infrastructure and existing infrastructure - degrees of coverage (both in terms of time and space) of solutions in a city - flexibility & reliability (and trade-offs between the two) - advantages & disadvantages of adherence to existing and setting of new standards - solutions need to take into account city/ context-specific needs, opportunities and limitations - understanding what participation in Mobilotoop is worth to people, where thresholds of active participation lie - managing complexity of using the system, finding appropriate solutions, etc. (political/institutional) impact of a stronger vs. a weaker Europe, rescaling of decision capacity, elimination of intermediate policy levels and structures, growing power of city-regions, informalisation of decision-making culture, fluidity of temporary alliances, increase vs. decrease of rules & legislation On the basis of discussions around this plethora of topics, a set of key challenges and prerequisites for Mobilotoop s success were selected: - it should be about more than mobility/ transport of people, also about goods, information, places. - proximity and number of hubs and connections to keep in mind. - it should cater to the needs of and be accessible to/usable by both digitallychallenged and digital natives, preferably connect them (i.e. crossgenerational) - elderly ought to be regarded as an asset in the broader system, rather than as a liability - a clever system to incentivize users and usage is needed - using Mobilotoop solutions ought to generate benefits beyond the direct user, i.e. the environment, local community, local entrepreneurs, etc. - resources needed by the system should preferably be local or reused/reusable - the blurring of boundaries between people s private & working lives can be seen as an opportunity - designs need to be aware of trade-offs between privacy & transparency - aftercare solutions (cf. repairs, 47

50 February 5th 2013 Leuven Interactive workshop with mixed group of experts and designers. The core question: How would a multi-generational family move through the city in 2040, supported by an ecosystem of mobility solutions, amongst which Mobilotoop-inspired vehicles, services and infrastructure? is tackled in a step-by-step manner, by sketching: - what a day in the future life of the family members would look like in terms of their (existing, altered and new) mobility needs, influenced by the future developments under consideration. - a storyboard explaining how a vehicle/service/infrastructural element could be part of the solution aimed to cater to these needs. - constraints & prerequisites regarding the feasibility and usability of the solution and how the various elements connect to one another. Participants Baerten Nik (Pantopicon) Bekemans Laurens (architect, BC architects) Bosschaert Wout Craeghs Katja (Greenpoint) De Lameilleure Maka (Flanders Inshape) Debal Patrick (Punch Powertrain) Debruyne Adriaan (designer) Decrock Philippe (Federauto) Deffense Anne-Sophie (Athlon Car Lease Belgium) Dreessen Katrien (MAD Faculty) Follong Guy (Ridley bikes) Hagenaars Ben (designer, Cultivating Communities) Hegge Frans (Hegge ID) Herman Laura (Z33) Knapen Tim (designer, Indianen) Lommée Thomas (designer, Intrastructures) Lowyck Bart (VIM) Martens Philippe (Flanders Inshape) Rijshouwer Emiel (Pantopicon) Swinnen Evi (TimeLab) Van Bostraeten Jo (autodidact) Van Den Abbeele Gerben (stand-up activist) Van Doninck Nicole (VIM) Willems Stijn (designer, dooz) Input - Overview of Mobilotoop vision & user scenarios as means of illustration - Overview of key future developments from expert camp & interviews - Basic set of personas to guide usercentred ideation Output - First set of ideas/storylines for Mobilotoop-inspired vehicles, services and infrastructural elements, illustrated by means of sketches & storyboards - Overview of key points of attention regarding how these solutions can/should connect with one another 48

51 Process: 01. Expert interviews 02. Expert camp 03. Designer camp 04. Makers kick-off 05. Garage camp Feedback meeting 07. Garage camp Garage camp Project exhibition 10. Lessons learnt Designer camp objectives Come to first set of ideas/storylines in terms of Mobilotoop-inspired vehicles, services and infrastructure, which can be used to inspire and brief the maker teams of Mobilotoop prototypes later on in the process. 49

52 I n p u t - Mobilotoop value set 50

53 51 I nput - Mobilotoop vehicle moodboard

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58 Output - stor ylines for Mobilotoop-inspired vehicles, services and infrast ructural elements 56

59 Output - stor y l i n es for Mobilotoop-inspired vehicles, services and infrast r uctural elements 57

60 Take-aways from designer camp A. Mobilotoop scenarios and story line cards An analysis of the user scenarios and feedback/new ideas from the workshop led to the identification of building blocks for a Mobilotoop-inspired culture and systems of mobility. Five types of building blocks - related to the design, manufacturing and usage of vehicle, service as well as infrastructural elements - have been identified: - actors - actions - infrastructure - objects - data/systems A card set was created in order to allow maker teams: - to create and play with their own variations of user scenarios - to easily spot design targets for their specific focus (cf. vehicle-, service- or infrastructure-related elements) - to understand different contexts in which these building blocks would need to be used By means of illustration, 8 basic user scenarios were created, i.e. - the tweaker - the handyman - the comfort buyer - the part-timer - the designer - the entrepreneur - the fixer - the user Each user scenario reads from left to right, starting from the user and his/her actions. The building blocks involved in it can be found beneath the action (or - if other actors are involved above). (also see p for image material of the cards) 58

61 B. Refined design brief for the vehicle Construction The vehicle must be approachable, give the impression that I can do that, too, simple construction, universal access to any manuals, easy access to workplaces and storage/exchange of parts. It would be a plus if some parts could be (re)produced in a fablab context (thus take account of the possibilities/limitations of 3D printers and laser cutters for the design of the individual components) Impact The vehicle will be a collage of old and new, low-tech and hi-tech, personalised and mass-produced, complex and simple, public and private, purchased and borrowed parts. This will generate its own aesthetic, this aesthetic will fully define the identity of the vehicle and must also be exploited to a maximum when putting the vehicle together (in other words, wager on diversity/collage instead of trying to avoid it) Return The return for the user is satisfaction, rather than status or efficiency. The possibility of an increased feeling of autonomy and self-development. C. Points of attention Safety: how are we going to deal with regulations and laws when designing the vehicle, to what point do we see the possibility for a self-built vehicle without being hindered by a myriad of mandatory rules? Guarantee: what if a part breaks - who is responsible in that event, can guarantees be given on the vehicle/the vehicle parts? How do we deal with this? Community: critical mass The system needs two kinds of believers: one group who will develop vehicles and services from below and one who will delineate the policy guidelines from above, thus creating a context within which the Mobilotoop system can fully develop. This first group of believers can perhaps be found most readily in an environment with many young people who, on the one hand, must have sufficient time and creativity/intellect and, on the other, a big hole in their wallet..:).. a student town, in other words. Quality Although it all looks very simple and basic, this basic construction must work well and it must be possible to quickly and easily adapt the vehicle. Perhaps there is need for a limited control of the whole, a quality label,.. 59

62 April 24th 2013 C-Mine, Genk Presentation of and discussion about intermediary state of the project with interested parties from industry, as well as designers recruited through an open call. Participants Baerten Nik (Pantopicon) Baeyens Peter (designer, Mobimix) Bekemans Laurens (architect, BC architecture) Boot Bram (designer) Claes Vincent (Jaga NV) Craeghs Katja (Greenpoint) De Lameilleure Maka (Flanders Inshape) Deflandre Thierry (Circuit Zolder) Defreyne Peter (designer/engineer) Dijkshoorn Lydia (designer/amateur bike constructor) Gillis Sarah (Flanders Inshape) Hoornaert Steven (Intercommunale Leiedal Lismont Tonny (Ford Genk) Lommee Thomas (designer, Intrastructures) Palumbo Giuseppe (EPG systems) Patfoort Johan (Solarelectric) Piovan Giacomo (designer, Social Matters) Royen Mathie (designer, hogeschool Zuyd Art Faculty) Van Bostraeten Jo (autodidact) Van Damme Geert (MCS nv) Van De Gaer Freya (architect) Van De Klundert Froukje (designer) Van den Broeck Nele (Colruyt) Van Doninck Nicole (VIM) Vercoutere Bart (i-cleantech Vlaanderen) Willems Stijn (designer, dooz) Wenmakers Dirk (designer/engineer) Van Loon Heleen (Cultuurplatform) Kitsinis Katherina (IDE) De Forche Christine Mastronardi Giovanni Coninx Ellen (Hegius Advocaten) Wenmakers Dirk (designer/engineer, Dwen) Input Design brief consisting of: - key challenges/constraints/design prerequisites - design targets identified through analysis of user scenarios & ideas developed during designer camp, as building blocks for an ecosystem around Mobilotoop-inspired solutions - experience mapping of different typologies of Mobilotoop users - key characteristics & design guidelines for each maker team, i.e. vehicle, services & infrastructure Introduction of team leaders and their backgrounds Framing of legal aspects of open design in general & participation in project as such in particular (by legal advisor) Output - Insight into questions, interest, hopes/ fears of industry players with respect to project and open design methodology in general - First exchange of ideas amongst team members 60

63 Process: 01. Expert interviews 02. Expert camp 03. Designer camp 04. Makers kick-off 05. Garage camp Feedback meeting 07. Garage camp Garage camp Project exhibition 10. Lessons learnt Kick-off objectives Inform makers selected to participate in the design and development of prototypes of vehicles, services and infrastructural elements, emblematic of the Mobilotoop vision of future urban mobility. Awaken interest amongst industry players to participate in the open design -driven process. 61

64 I nput - Ac c e ssion contract for Mobilotoop developers Input 62