ATNMBL By Mike And Maaike

Image courtesy of Mike and Maaike

San Francisco-based design duo Mike and Maaike recently introduced the ATNMBL, a provocative vehicle design that proposes an interesting paradigm shift in terms of mobility: no driving.

The concept is the result of an experimental and thoughtful process where they have questioned the very needs of car users and explored the scenario of a computer-controlled system powered by solar panels and electric motors in each wheel.

They have taken a very interesting approach and the design is clearly a departure from traditional car design. Similar thoughts have been explored previously in academic contexts around urban mobility (i.e. Shaun Hutchinson at RCA in 2001) and also some technologies that started in laboratories few years ago are common place nowadays.

So, the technology is there, the infrastructure is there, now the car industry needs to start looking at putting all these pieces together. They are the ones with the power and resources to do it.

The industry that probably employs the largest amount of people in the world, one that has an incredible technological infrastructure and very well prepared human resources, should start working on alternative energies and understanding mobility holistically, looking at the problem of transportation entirely instead of making the same (100 years) old product that only about 12% of the population are able to enjoy. There is a huge opportunity to innovate here and the ATNMBL concept shows this in an elegant and poetic way.

It is nice to see optimistic concepts like Mike and Maaike’s, which bring a fresh approach to the table. And as they say: this is a time of economic challenges and therefore time to experiment.

Here’s an interesting article about their concept on Core77.

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