Help Design A New Eco-Car
By Emma Norman
Frustrated by the niggly imperfections in your car? Slow electric windows, not enough cup holders, no spittoon? Well no longer will you have to put up with such inferior design - it’s now possible to alter the design of a car to your own specifications.
The world’s first open source car has been created by Stichting Natuur en Milieu, the Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment, together with the technical universities of Delft, Eindhoven and Enschede. The new car is called “c,mm,n” (pronounced “common”) and was unveiled last week.
Open source means that the blue prints, technical specifications and every tiny detail of the car have been made public and are available to all on the web, and that anyone, yes anyone, can alter the car’s design however they like! All your design suggestions and modifications are made public in a discussion forum. Open source is a method of publicly modifying a technology’s design and sharing ideas, an approach first used in computing.
Environmental sustainability has been a key focus of the project and the initial design of the car is hydrogen powered and so produces no emissions. The design also includes the facility to communicate traffic problems and journey directions to other drivers and has room for the family (this may well be the first feature you’ll want to change!).
Whether you have a mechanical or aesthetic suggestion, an environmental improvement or fancy yourself as a James Bond’s Q, this is your chance.
At the Null we think this is an excellent idea and hope that other technology will one day also be available open source, encouraging budding designers, engineers and inventors and providing them with an opportunity to showcase their talent.
The website is currently only available in Dutch so you’ll have to hold on tightly to your ideas for now whilst the English version of the site is being set up. Keep your eyes on the website for more information, available soon at: www.autoindetoekomst.nl/website/cmmn/.
If you can’t wait then either get yourself a Dutch dictionary or alternatively email the team for more information:
info@autoindetoekomst.nl.
We look forward to seeing what genius lies within you all!
You can enjoy the genius that lies within Emma here. Alternatively, for more motoring marvels follow these links:
- Strange - A spittoon for cars
- News - Robo-Car heads for the hills
The world’s first open source car has been created by Stichting Natuur en Milieu, the Netherlands Society for Nature and Environment, together with the technical universities of Delft, Eindhoven and Enschede. The new car is called “c,mm,n” (pronounced “common”) and was unveiled last week.
Open source means that the blue prints, technical specifications and every tiny detail of the car have been made public and are available to all on the web, and that anyone, yes anyone, can alter the car’s design however they like! All your design suggestions and modifications are made public in a discussion forum. Open source is a method of publicly modifying a technology’s design and sharing ideas, an approach first used in computing.
Environmental sustainability has been a key focus of the project and the initial design of the car is hydrogen powered and so produces no emissions. The design also includes the facility to communicate traffic problems and journey directions to other drivers and has room for the family (this may well be the first feature you’ll want to change!).
Whether you have a mechanical or aesthetic suggestion, an environmental improvement or fancy yourself as a James Bond’s Q, this is your chance.
(continued below)
 |
| Maybe the first difference you'd like to suggest would be to alter the 'I've just been sat on by an elephant' bonnet motif. |
At the Null we think this is an excellent idea and hope that other technology will one day also be available open source, encouraging budding designers, engineers and inventors and providing them with an opportunity to showcase their talent.
The website is currently only available in Dutch so you’ll have to hold on tightly to your ideas for now whilst the English version of the site is being set up. Keep your eyes on the website for more information, available soon at: www.autoindetoekomst.nl/website/cmmn/.
If you can’t wait then either get yourself a Dutch dictionary or alternatively email the team for more information:
info@autoindetoekomst.nl.
We look forward to seeing what genius lies within you all!
You can enjoy the genius that lies within Emma here. Alternatively, for more motoring marvels follow these links:
- Strange - A spittoon for cars
- News - Robo-Car heads for the hills
Share this
