Renewable Road Trip
Ethan Braunstein &
Teo Sadowski
Thesis
Renewable Road Trip is a VR experience designed to marry automotive design and sustainable education. Through a series of sustainable charging stations (i.e., solar, wind, hydro), the user will drive up a virtual mountain side while listening to a radio station that provides history, information and benefits on each type of sustainable energy.
Design process flowchart
We started with terrain section and car body/model.
Then we realized car was hard to work and drive.
We researched how to make the car drive smooth.
Mid-Review feedback made us go from not focusing on terrain visuals as much to wanting to implement some change in the area you are driving in as you drive up the road.
We tweaked more visuals and added some cosmetics to get to our current model
We also added a terrain section with a road to drive on.
Assetto Corsa map
We wanted to create our terrain in the same visual way that this game map was made.
Renewable energy
charge
Implementing renewable energy sources to car charging ports
Research & Inspiration
History of
renewable power
- Water wheels were the first renewable energy source in 200 BC
Inspired Design Choice
We wanted to implement hydro, wind, and solar power to charge electric cars in a virtual reality game.
History of electric
cars
- Electric cars are better for the environment and provide a use for renewable energy.
Inspired Design Choice
Implementing electric cars and connecting renewable energy to them was our preferred design choice.
First Concept Sketches
Twisty roads surrounded by trees.
Start of the road and first renewable energy charger
Evolving terrain as you
drive.
What Worked?
What Didn't?
- The body worked and didn't fall apart
- Wheels could turn
- Had camera attached to preferred interior view
- Car would not go forward or turn
- Camera would sometimes fall out of view
- Car would wheelie every time you tried to go forward along and had no brakes
We made a car from scratch in Unity with some physics to move and steer around.
First Prototype
Change #1: Adding cosmetics and decor
Change #3:
We added some trees, different terrain texture, and charging
Explain what you added / changed for the next iteration
Change #2: Re modeled
Took original frame and re did body, rims, and other cosmetics
Wind Power Charging Station
Car
Solar Charging Station
Environmental Design
Final Result
Final Image
Reflecting & Looking Forward...
With more time...
- Make Charging stations functional
- Add Radio station with
information and history
- Add more sustainable
features.
Restarting we would've focused on story line elements and create a better picture explaining how sustainable energy is used.
Questions?
Renewable Road Trip is a Virtual Reality experience that teaches the user about the evolution of different types of renewable energy sources while they drive. The user is driving an electric car that is powered by chargers from different renewable energy sources. While the player drives up the road, they enter different environments with different levels that each charger has to correspond with in order to provide energy. The first level is rivers and hydro power. The second level is open green land with lots of sun for solar power. Once the user gets to the last level, it consists of mountains, clouds, and lots of wind for wind energy to power the charger.
This learning experience is made for people to be educated on how renewable energy works and how it can be tied to many different things and can start replacing gas/oil powered machines. While the user drives, the radio will inform the driver on how the upcoming renewable energy car charger works. Most people do not know what types of renewable energy that can be used for different gas powered machine replacements. Renewable Road Trip is meant to educate people on how you can implement renewable energy into electric cars and how it can help.