Designers, artists, and sculptors use several methods to create and visualise forms. Traditional methods involve using materials like clay, foam, metals, and so on to sculpt the desired shape. Modern methods like 3D printing are additive, that is, the sculpting is done by continuous addition of material. Even in the automotive domain, industrial plasticine is used to develop forms for vehicle exteriors.

The problem with these methods is that they are either too time-consuming or labor-intensive, or the process is not flexible enough. For instance, a 3D-printed model cannot be further modified. Foam or clay modelling requires specific tools and skill sets. Therefore, there is a need for a form development method that can be used to quickly create and visualise aesthetic forms.

Swarm behaviour in nature was studied for this. Birds, fish, and even mammals often travel in very large swarms, seemingly guided by an unknown force. They can rapidly rearrange and reorganise themselves to change direction, avoid threats, and so on. The mechanism of swarm formation was studied in order to understand and apply it in the context of form development. The existing applications of swarm-inspired technology were also studied in order to get context for the proposed solution.

The project was done as a part of an internship at Samudra Shipyard Ltd, based in Kochi, Kerala. Samudra Shipyard specializes on applying Fibreglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) technologies to build a wide variety of boats and related equipment for different purposes. Having an experience of more than three decades in this field, Samudra has also taken part in a number of collaborative projects with other organizations and the state government. The project was done as the preliminary stage of introducing a new product into the market, a single bedroom houseboat aimed at small families or couples. It provided an opportunity to learn about the various aspects of water transport and the unique challenges faced while designing solutions for water based mobility.

Emergency Medical Service (EMS) systems in India are still largely uncoordinated and decentralised. The absence of any nationalised standards or regulations means different operators act on their own accord, resulting in widely scattered responses across different organisations and entities. They are the critical issues of accessibility and affordability, adding up to the fact that in many cases, the primary patient transport from the scene of an emergency to the hospital is usually done in other vehicles such as taxis, auto rickshaws, or private cars. Such vehicles are more ubiquitous and easily accessible than dedicated ambulances. So there is scope to adapt them into a patient transport vehicle. This is especially true for larger MPV taxis, which have enough interior room to adequately simulate the space inside an ambulance. Integrating an emergency medical service into an existing online taxi service (such as Uber or Ola) can lead to a more accessible, affordable, and trustworthy system.

Throughout history, technology and culture have driven each other to progress. Technology is created out of direct and indirect human needs, while certain technologies create new needs. The result of this symbiotic relationship is what we generally call as ‘trends’. Like how the smartphone and internet technology have driven the whole trend of selfies and image sharing, we can find evidence of trends at any point in history.

The automotive industry, being highly capital-intensive, not to mention the fact that a new vehicle takes at least a few years to go from idea to production,relies a lot on setting and responding to trends. Since designers are always in the business of predicting the future, a thorough study of past trends can help as a tool to anticipate and predict future trends. The research part of this project is to attempt the same: unravelling the complicated relationships between technological and cultural progress and the trends that originated from them. Based on this study, the near future can be anticipated with reasonable accuracy, which serves as the basis for the design phase of the project.

Designing the exterior for a car to be launched in 2030 involves certain challenges. The design aims to be reflective of cutting-edge technology as well as the anticipated lifestyle and specific human needs of that era.