Sina Rahmani’s Sentire concept was one of the more conceptual projects at the 2015 Coventry degree show, and was all the better for it. Built around the premise that artificial intelligence will one day surpass that of the human race, Rahmani’s motivation was to explore the possibilities of human-technology interaction in a natural and seamless way, all while addressing the side effects of technological advancement.
“Our bodies are made to move, motion adds a dimension of time and space that is meaningful to our lives,” says Rahmani. “However, the problem is that we have become less physically active because of automation.”
The Sentire concept takes driving as an experience to something purely athletic and physical to encourage wellbeing. As information technology grows exponentially, artificial intelligence becomes embedded in our hyper connected world, but how do we interact with it? The concept proposes a dynamic that encourages use of senses and motion by capturing biometric data through sensors and processing it with an advanced AI. As the driver moves inside the vehicle, its electroactive skin and structure adapts in sync with the driver.
The design of the vehicle draws inspiration from biology, human form and parametric design. Rahmani researched the human body and conducted form experiments that involved stretching membranes to create a sense of softness and tension, which is incorporated into the design. This overall mixture creates an aesthetic that may be alien to automotive design, but familiar to nature.
To match the close relationship between technology and nature, the active structure of the vehicle is made of voronoi cells that are found in nature. This was implemented by using the visual programming tool Grasshopper. The complex 3D printed structure has a variable density in cell size and material that gives it selective movement and rigidity.
Rahmani’s mission to bridge the gap between technology and biology has been successfully applied in this project, ultimately yielding a concept for a vehicle design that uses emerging technologies like nano-scale 3D printing, artificial intelligence and electroactive materials to create a package that is closer to nature in both function and form.
