E-mobility Technology Winter 2020

e-mobility Technology International | Vol 7 | Winter 2020
Hygiene/Turnover
As the way we use these shared vehicles changes, so
will our expectations of their levels of hygiene and
cleanliness – particularly as we move into a postpandemic
era.
Throughout the process of designing Quarter Car,
we were passionate about creating an interior that
looked superemely modern with design cues taken
from high quality furniture, whilst also retaining all of
the anti-dirt trapping and easy-to-clean functionality
of traditional utilitarian transport.
We recognise that shared mobility solutions might be
the ones to suffer in the long term from the Cov-ID
crisis, but Quarter Car has the potential to address
many of the health concerns attached to this.
Richard Seale Seymour Powell’s lead automotive
designer went on to say “Not only can we divide
the space into four, air locked cubicles, which allow
each passenger to travel in their own ‘bubble,’ all
of Quarter Car’s soft furnishings are designed to be
easily swapped and the surfaces behind them feature
no sharp edges – allowing a very swift and thorough
servicing routine to be performed multiple times a
day, giving passengers peace of mind that the mode
of transport remains as safe and viable as possible.
Not only this, but there are methods of digital
feedback that could be explored, as part of the
service’s app or even through the display technology
within the vehicle, that could further this confirmation
of excellent hygiene standards.”
Air Quality
Richard went on to say
“During the initial design
process of Quarter Car, we
left no stone unturned when
questioning the conventional
wisdom of traditional vehicle
design. As part of this
process, we began to wonder
whether a vehicle could in
fact positively contribute
to the air quality of the
environment it operates in,
rather than the contrary. We
believe that if we are going to
flood cities with new mobility
solutions, in various ways
each vehicle should do a little good for every mile
travelled, collectively contributing to better living
standards for all.”
There are two ways in which Q-Car becomes a positive
emission vehicle, first of all, it’s fully electric and
utilises energy generated only from clean sources,
consequently Q-Car doesn’t have any tail pipe
emissions. Secondly, the vehicles actively cleans the
air while it moves by using carbon capture technology,
thus offsetting the negative impact of any carbon
emitting vehicles still operating in the urban realm.
At Seymour Powell we value our independent voice
within the industry – it gives us the ability to think
freely about the future of the industry and what
physical and digital services and products we may see
in the coming years. It is this free thinking that has
led to the creation of our Quarter Car concept, which
we hope will contribute to the ever accelerating drive
towards sustainable transport in our urban centres,
whilst also providing new and enriching passenger
experiences for future users. We strongly believe,
however, that digitial ride hailing represents just one
mode in what will be an eclectic range of options in
our future transport ecosystem, and we look forward
to turning our gaze towards other modes of e-mobility
over the coming months, not only through our selfdirected
thought pieces but also working closely with
industry leaders to bring some of these solutions to
market.
Seymour Powell is the London based design studio called
on to help design the interior of the Virgin Galactic Space
shuttle.
e-mobility Technology International | www.e-motec.net
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