Rinspeed bringing microMAX swarm car to Geneva

Jonathon Ramsey — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:30:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Geneva Motor Show, Technology, Specialty, Design/Style, Electric

A few months ago Switzerland's relentless tinkerer Rinspeed clued us into the coming of the microMAX, its latest vision of the evolution of personal and public transport. The company has unleashed all the details and a refined set of images of the "swarm intelligence" rolling cubicle before its reveal at the Geneva Motor Show.

The microMAX is both a vehicle and a system of transportation like a city bus or subway system. An app allows members of the network to call for a ride. After entering their destinations, Harman's "urbanSWARM" cloud-based software gets the network of microMAX vehicles speaking to one another to find the best route to serve driver, current and future passengers, and allows the electric concept to dip a wheel into use as a taxi, as part of car-sharing and carpool services, and pure public transport.

An "invitingly modern interior" with a "homey lounge" atmosphere should repel unsavory associations with mass mobility. The maximum of three passengers taking their places in upright seats will have room for a shopping cart or stroller, wireless internet access, refrigerator and coffee maker and near-field communications.

The extensive press release below doesn't omit a single detail nor any one of the many partners involved in creating the microMAX. Grab a cup of coffee and dig in.

Continue reading Rinspeed bringing microMAX swarm car to Geneva

Rinspeed bringing microMAX swarm car to Geneva originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Feb 2013 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BMW envisions a future of wearable transportation

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:58:00 EST

Filed under: Concept Cars, Etc., BMW, Design/Style

BMW Suits that Transport Concepts - Click above for image gallery

BMW has teamed up with students of automotive design and fashion at the European Institute of Design in Barcelona to come up with some ideas on what the future of urban transportation may bring. And the results are... ahem, interesting.

And by interesting, what we really mean is strange.

Take, for instance, the Comme des Voitures, which features a pair of boots that feature soles clad with ball bearings and a helmet of sorts that beams relevant information to the "rider." And then there's the City-Skiing concept that is exactly what it sounds like, except that the skis are tall and short, and the corresponding suit looks like it was originally meant for a moon landing.

Slightly - and we do mean slightly - more rational is Flymag, which pairs a cape-like suit with a human-powered scooter that looks like a stroller. Combine the two and you've got a wee little automobile. We also have the Svala, again featuring a suit that controls a... wheeled thing that's supposedly electric.

And then we get crazy again with the B-Motion, an insane hoverboard and backpack combo that makes absolutely zero sense to us. Anyway, do check them out in the image gallery below.

Gallery: BMW Suits that Transport Concepts

[Source: European Institute of Design in Barcelona via Engadget]

BMW envisions a future of wearable transportation originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 26 Jan 2011 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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