Personal Transportation Vehicle
Fun to drive personal mobility vehicle for elderly and everyone else
Information
Author: De Boer, E.
Contributor: Molenbroek, J.F.M., Visser, A.A., Schmidt, R.
Faculty: Industrial Design Engineering
Department: Design Engineering
Type: Master thesis
Date: 24-3-2010
Keywords: Personal Mobility | Pleasure | Elderly | Scooters | Half-standing | Three-wheel
Abstract
The goal of the project was to design a personal mobility vehicle for elderly that would deal with the negative image and stigmatizing character of current mobility scooters.
There is a large group of people (aged 50+) who are no longer able to ride a bike or walk longer distances. At the same time they are not willing to drive a mo- bility scooter. This due to the stigmatizing image of the mobility scooter. These people need transporta- tion beside the car for transportation over distances within 10km. The assignment was to design a fun to drive personal mobility solution for this group. If it was fun to drive it would deal with the negative imago that transport solutions for elderly easy get. The product should be stable at any speed and at stand still. It should also be possible to transport the vehicle in a medium size car because a large part of the target group has the intention to take the product along on holidays or family trips.
To design a product that is pleasurable to use, the four pleasures that were distinguished by Patrick W. Jordan (2000) are used to determine the design criteria. The four kinds of pleasure that can be distinguished are Psycho pleasure, Physio pleasure, Socio pleasure, and Ideo pleas- ure. By defining the pleasures that the user should experience, a list of desired characteristics can be set.
The final concept is a three wheel scooter. The scooter has a stable platform at standstill and at low speeds. At higher speeds, a tilting mechanism is unlocked allowing the driver to lend into a corner. This makes cornering more smooth and riding the product looks more elegant. The final product has an integrated design that includes the seat, a lockable luggage compartment and large tail lights for maximum visibility. The compartments are visually connected by the central frame. There are several options for customizing. The concept has a new developed seat that supports the driver in a half standing position. The driver is able to have a conversation at eye height. Also is the safety improved due to the higher visibility in busy traffic and a better over- view for the driver in comparison to a mobility scooter.
