Here are some inspirational artists’ works for generative design.

Artists

Dextro has developed a diverse range of interactive drawing systems in which simple design elements such as points and lines replicate and self-organise to create illustrations and animations.

Digital artists Meta use generative processes to create streams of abstract video, expressive of the multi-layered, fluid mutable nature of electronic space.

Jared Tarbell has experimented with the intersection of generative systems, typography and graphic patterns in his experimental web design projects.

Iching Project

Organic machinery 

Architecture

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Collective Intelligence

Nissans EPORO – Cutting-edge vehicle collision prevention technology

Fundamentals of Automobile Design

Body Nomenclature(fig 1.7 – 1.16)

Monocoque

The monocoque configuration is characterized by an integral structure which forms a shell, including exterior panels. The integral structure reacts to all major loads. This is considered the most mass-efficient configuration.  Within it, there are topology variants. Topology is the arrangement of structural elements – beams and panels- to meet requirements in the most efficient manner.  Besides structural concern, an effective body topology also satisfies the additional constraints which the package, styling and manufacturing place on the positioning and size of structural elements.

The body Structure as a System

A system is described in two ways: The first is by a breakdown of its physical parts or subsystems. The second is by examining the functions the system must provide.

Design Philosophy

During preliminary design, the vehicle mission is translated into a vehicle concept including the selection of subsystems, layout, and styling to meet the mission. It relies heavily on physical intuition and first-order analysis models in defining load paths, sizing structural elements and making design trade-offs. The goal can be achieved by identifying the small set of topology-defining structural requirements. Appreciation for the vehicle and manufacturing context of body design is also gained.

Body structural requirements

The purpose of the structure is to

1. react loads applied to it during use.
2. React those loads with an amount of deformation which enhances the function of the system which the structure is part of.
3. The stiffness category is closely related panel’s normal performance of structural elements.
4. The strength is category is characterized by the onset of a small permanent deformation.
5. The energy absorption category is characterized by a very large permanent deformation.

Tasks:

1. Create a structure with these three qualities of strength, stiffness and energy absorption at the required levels.
2. In order to function as a vehicle, all these subsystems must be located in a specific orientation and retained to function to form a usable vehicle.

Front suspension attachment structure, locates and retains the suspension at several points; the shock absorber, spring, and control arm. Mode which provide dominant structural requirements include braking, cornering, rollover, vertical bump, vibration isolation and handling.

1. Requirements for vehicle level function
   identify the vehicle function to be accomplished
2. Define how the vehicle subsystems will work together to provide that function (function strategy).
3. Analyse the role of the body structure
4. Flow down the overall body structure requirements on the structural subsystems and elements

 

Automotive structural elements 

Body Bending Strength Requirement 

Design for crash worthiness 

Design for vibrations 

Design for vehicle and Styling integration

(Same as H-point)

 

 

Plug-in Hybrids – The Cars that will Recharge America

Why Plug-in hybrid?

Components: regenerative braking, electric motors, batteries, plug,

1. Series-parallel hybrid: Rely on both the engine and the electric motors for peak power needs, resulting in smaller engine sized more for average usage rather than peak usage. a small engine can have less internal losses and lower weight. Engines can be shut down during idle period.
2. Regenerative braking: significant battery capacity and reuse of capture energy i.e. city driving cycle stop and go traffic
   Noise: there is no engine, no ignition, no noise. CD can be play to mock the sound of engine since we used to equate noise with power.
   Simplicity: no engine, ignition, gasoline tank, oil filter, coolant, catalytic converter, or muffler, less service and low maintenance.
   Efficiency: electric drive system converts more of the available energy to propels the car. Regenerative braking convert kinetic energy to electricity and store it for later use rather than wasted from heat and fiction between the brake disks and the brake pads, even in comparision for the “full fuel cycle”, or well-to wheels.
3. Range: A key factor in how far one can drive on electricity is the batteries.
4. Convience: The convenience of recharging at home, typically overnight. Using off-peak power can absord the ëxcess capacity”a night that was wasted, cars as energy storage to supplement the grid.
5. Batteries:

Running on renewables

Windpower goes to waste because it blows at night, when customers need it and there is no place to store it. With plyg-in hybrids charging at night, that wind power can be stored in batteries. Plug-in hybrids bring same advantages in partnership with solar power or other renewables like wave energy, tidal energy or hydroelectric power. Solar energy peaks at noon , but the highest demands for electricity comes several hours later. Multiple-fuel plug-in hybrid can be further studied.

Vehicle to Grid

The average car gets driven 3 hours a day; the other 21 hours it could be plugged in for storage and ready to feed power back inth the grid when energy was needed on something else. It can also be used in an emergency, such as earthquake that causes a blackout.

Other features:

improve aerodynamics
low rolling Resistance tires
power steering, power a/c, auxiliary pump electricity.

a mixture of input fuel (waste veg oil, fuid power)

 

Notes on the Synthesis of Form

Christopher Alexander is a registered architect noted for his theories about design. He argued a good design involves intuition and logic. There is an urgent need to use logical structures or program to represent design problems.

Fitness

Every design problem begins with an effort to achieve fitness between the form in question and it’s context. He argued physical clarity can be achieved in a program that relate the head and the action. Context is anything that put demands of the world. It could be users driven, environmental, social, economic…

The source of good fit

He argues the process of form making is a series action of subsystems.

In the Diagram, each subset appears in the tree will define a subproblem of the problem. Each subproblem will have its integrity, and independent of the other subproblems. Thus, problems can be resolved in a simplified manner under this breakdown structure.

The program

To solve a problem, there are two conditions need to be met:
1 A wide range of possible alternative solutions must be generated symbolically.
2 All the criteria for solution must be expressed in terms of the same symbolism.

The construction of hypotheses can not be existed on pure data but the further introduction of principles are demanded like simplicity, non-arbitrariness, and clear organizations.

At last, a form diagram and a requirement diagram is needed to draw a parallel to achieve the solution, a unified description. The constructive diagram, which is the bridge between requirements and form.  The form’s basic organization is born precisely in the constructive diagrams which precede its design.

Discussion

1. How automotive design integrate with social developments?

2. What are the old automobile problems? What are the new automotive design issues in respond to the context or demands?

3. Imagine cars can be broken down to a set of subsystems, how can each subsystem is informed metaphorically and functionally? And how can they put into one?

The Machine That Changed The World

The Machine That Changed The World unfolds the “Automotive Revolution” in the history from Henry Ford’s Model T  a.k.a. Fordism. The idea behind it is to improve the efficiency and productivity of the product line with division of labour so that cars became affordable. In the meanwhile, mass production as a paradign shift killed the craftsmen era when cars used to be made by a specialists rather than machines. Mass production was creating lots of issues as much as benefits. Labour work were extremely repetitive and boring (The Modern Times starred Charlie Chaplin capture the scence very well). Skills and labours are supplanted by consistent machineses.

The argument of doubting the mass production is raised. Japanese automotive company, Toyota adopted lean production to breakthrough the automotive industry. Lean production can reduces the time and effort involved in manufacturing such as enginnering and product development. In the Chapter of Designing the Car, the leadership, teamwork, communication and simultaneous were highlighted in compare and contrast both productions. The primary difference is the linear, top-down hierarchical mass manufacturing and decentralized manufacturing. Lean revines the reemphasis of craftmanship of each labour to work as a team. Labours are no longer just focus on their specific work but see the whole picture. Communication is facilitated among labours thus synergy is generated to tackle the same problem. Lean production not only focus on designing but also along the whole product line from suppy chain to customer relations. Lean design results a wide variety of products and within shorter product cycles. This advants in fast respond to the market demands. In short, lean focuses on producitivity and flexibility.

Automotive revolution went through three main stages from Craft production in the 1880s and the transition to Mass production around 1915, the Lean production starts from 1950s. It seems when one production strategy is saturated by competitors using the same strategy, new strategy needs to be invented to have a breakthrough. What will be the new production method in the digital age in the 21st century when digital technologies become so prevalent?

Click Here to read the Summary

Emergence – Complexity from Simplicity, Order from Chaos Part 2

Apply emergence on artificial intelligence, where many systems are integrated into one. Following simple rules becomes unpredictable. To turn unconscious elements to a conscious from. This video further explain how emergence inform new designs.

Emergence – Complexity from Simplicity, Order from Chaos Part 1

Seeing emergence from the nature, an explanation for life in a scientific and a philosophical way. A complex of forms of automotive and its functions and elements is believed to be cohered in a new way instead of pure logical engineering piece of work…

Automotive design of the digital age

Background

Emergence is the one of the shape development techniques that organise complex or multiple surfaces in an interactive way. This process employs digital medias (digital softwares also outside the design industry) as tools to create ideas in an analogical or metaphorical way which has been used in architecture for a few decades. In this project, this contemporary approach is intended to borrow and apply to automobile design in response to its dynamic context while automotive is uninspiring. This iterative and experimental process has a new generative possibilities. The design context here is purely technical. This study of using emmergence, initiated in the hope to innovate the automobile in the way that human agglomerates in the digital age.

Methodology

Exploration
A system of influences or events are generators to initiate the design process is first defined. They could be abstract analogies for environmental influences such as wind, light, sound, smoke, ripple patterns in a sand dune, water, school of fish, flock of birds or a spiral trace of a leaf to capture its movement. It could also be contextual phenonmena such as pedestrian and vehicular movements, urban vistas, WWW and the internet, patterns and intensities, kinematics and dynamics. Emergence is seen as a collective and there is a casual relation among individual units in different scales. The behaviour will be specified to satisfy the functions of automobile.

Generative design
Morphing techniques, in which dissimilar forms are blended to produce a range of hybrid forms that combine formal attributes of the “base’ and “target” objects. , twisting and bending create variations of form but maintain the same structure.

Parametric design
It entails a procedural, algorithmic description of geometry. A highly complex hierarchy of interdependences (top-down) and decentralized organisation could be introduced to the model. Geometies are variables and multiplicity.

Performance-based design
Therefore, the form was dictated by user services (interior) and functional constraint such as aerodynamics (exterior). The performance-based criteria could be i.e. light levels or structural load resistance, set of aesthetic principles.

Rapid prototyping
Physical models can be generated by computer numerically controlled machine (CNC), 3D scanning, laser cutting and robots

The results/findings of the research
The form and its changes become products of the dynamic actions . Unprecedented form is expected.

Discussions

Emergence allows complex identities merge into a single body and system with the interconnections. Systems such as man-made object systems (cloud-computing), and infrastructures the vehicle to grid (V2G) as well as natural eco systems can be further studied through mappings.
Factors such as spatial articulation, user engagement, intuition interface and dimension & proportion should be concerned. Monoque or semi-monoque body would be the most appropriate strategy.

Conclusion

The idea of using a digital media can be expanded to the manufacturing. “Intelligent production” is to mass customize different needs to deliever one-off production. Composition of materials can be engineered precisly to meet specific criteria depending on the context. By combing emerging technologies such as Siri, artificial intelligence to automotive, a two way communication between cars and users can happen. Many other new understandings and potentials can be created by combing the emerging and the past technologies.

Keywords
Emergence, Digital Medias, Experiments, (Plug-in Hybrids), Intelligence

The possibilities of form

Imagine it is the exterior of a car…

interiors of a car…

Outcome?