Lester Lim | CV & Architecture Portfolio IV

TECHNOLOGY OF
THE FUTURE
The automobile of the past will be obsolete, And is being
replaced with new, clean autonomous vehicles providing
safer travel alternatives. Detroit, known as the motorcity for
its historical role in automotive production, is now one of the
frontliners for Autonomous vehicle development as well.
This drastically changes the way we live and move, forcing
us to rethink how humans and architecture can interface and
evolve with this new technology. There are existing architectural
projects exploring the new conditions that can be afforded,
from autonomous living, to drive up spaces, travelling spaces,
and economical usage. These advancements all gives us
grounds to rethink the way we build our cities and spaces.
Trip Planning
Self-driving vehicles plan their
route by accessing maps, traffic
data, road and weather conditions,
toll information, and more.
They continuously refresh all that
data throughout the trip, in real
time, via an internet connection.
Co-Driver
In the trunk of the vehicle lies the
brains of the operation: the
computer that processes all this
data through algorithms and
converts it into driving decisions
(when to stop, back up, accelerate,
slow down, change lanes,
and more). It is a very powerful
computer, akin to a mobile,
multi-server data centre.
Panoramic Vision
A mini dome mounted on the car
houses a LIDAR unit to help the
vehicle “see.” Using laser beams
rather than radar waves, LIDAR
generates dynamic, three-dime
sional imagery for as far as 60
metres in every direction. The
mini-dome also contains video
cameras that recognize traffic
lights, signage, pedestrians, and
cyclists.
AI-Eyes
A system called “computer vision”
processes the combined data
from the LIDAR, radar, and
camera systems to identify street
users; classify them as pedestrians,
vehicles, or cyclists;
anticipate their movements;
incorporate road rules; and make
driving decisions.
FOR PROBLEMS
FROM THE PAST
When it comes to living in America, we think of the suburbs,
which is fraught with urban and sustainability issues. It has
come to represent the endless, problematic growth and
sprawl model of development in American cities, as well as
political and social issues.
It is built on the concept of mass produced homes, like how
cars were produced, in sprawling pieces of land zoned purely
for residential usage, built upon a vicious cycle of automobile
depency, caused by the post-war industry and baby boom.
The urban and social characteristics of the suburbs has been
long entrenched in the American way of life, represented
here by Levittown, one of the pioneering suburban model
of development created by William Levitt in the late 50s. It
features sprawling, single family homes made affordable
via cheap mass production and attractive mortgage loans,
driving masses of Americans to purchase these homes. It was
the American dream to have your own piece of property and
yard, along with a car in these car-centric developments.
These suburbs are often characterised by big box stores, with
even larger parking lots to accommodate the cars .
The wider metroplitan area is riddled with vacant property as
most of Detroit’s population have fled to the wider suburbs.
Public transit in the city is only available in the downtown
area, with the wider parts relying heavily on cars to get
around. For a sprawling, hollow city like Detroit suffering
from limited resources, Density is destiny for the sake of the
efficient allocation of resources and safety.
Feeling Feet
Existing vehicle GPS systems are
typically accurate within one or
two metres; a self-driving car
requires greater precision than
that. Its position estimators, moun
ed on wheels, can count tire
revolutions and sense lateral
movements. This data is layered
atop detailed digital maps that
include road grades, speed
bumps, and curb-cut locations to
determine the car’s exact position.
Diagrams by Author
Information source: Sidewalk Labs MIDP Vol. 2: Mobility
Lessons learned and shared
All this data is cumulative, just like
years of driving experience. As
the car encounters and navigates
new or unusual situations, it learns
from them for the next time — and
shares this learning with every car
in its fleet.
Eyes on the ground
Front-and ear-mounted radar
units determine the exact distances
between the vehicle and other
moving objects. Additio al cameras
and LIDAR sensors can also be
mounted low on the vehicle.
TOP RIGHT
Composite Urban Artifact
drawing, representing
the American Dream
of Suburbia- depicting
scene of Levittown,
stereotypical depictions
of 1950s suburban life
and common big-box
stores
BOTTOM RIGHT
Composite Urban Artifact
drawing, depicting the
infamous Packard Plant
in Detroit, with its history
of automobile history
on the left and possible
future of manufacturing
autonomous
homes in the future