MOSEY project’s challenge was to design a multimodal mobility solution for 2060, which creates a sense of community and is primarily for intercity travel. The user starts and ends their journey using the same low speed interconnected pod, which docks onto a high speed mothership, creating a door-to-door service. The pods are available as one or four seaters, giving the user flexibility as to whether they want more privacy, have a larger party or are happy to ride-share with strangers. The high speed mothership contains amenities such as a bar, seating areas, observation platforms and social zones. The interior design is followed through from pod to mothership, with flowing lines that guides the user to various zones. Onboard service bots can deliver food and drink in a non-invasive manner, to seating areas within the mothership and private areas in the pods. The option to have a private compartment or access to social areas links back to the core concepts of sharing, trust and choices. The three keywords for MOSEY are flexibility, interaction and convenience. The question was, how can you increase convenience within a system serving a multi-travel purpose? The main theme for this project is centered around community.
The team explored a variety of interior layouts, what the various touch points are and what design outputs best created a sense of community. The tagline created for this project was: Freedom from the monotony of long journeys. This highlights the fact that just because the user has to travel for an extended period of time, it does not mean that they have to be bored, lonely or tired throughout the journey. They should be able to interact with others if they choose to, have an area they can sit in peacefully and focus, and be able to take a long journey without having to worry about missing the next leg of the journey.
The system (Figure 38) starts by a pod moving up alongside the mothership in City A and docking in a vacant space. From there, the users either exit the pod and socialise with other passengers, or stay in their pod for a more peaceful and relaxing experience. Once the mothership is near City B, the users return to their pods where they will undock within the city limits, rejoining the flow of traffic.
Fig 38. MOSEY system: stages for a journey from City A to City B
The interior (Figure 39 & 40) is designed to flow from one section to the next, guiding the user from the pods through the mothership to the various amenities. These amenities include a Café bar, bench seating and a viewing platform. Service is provided by waiter bots, whose flowing lines complement the interior of the mothership. The bots are able to serve those in the social areas as well as in the pods.
Fig 39. Passengers entering the main social area of the MOSEY mothership
Fig 40. Passengers sitting and socialising in the viewing area of the MOSEY mothership
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The MORPH core research team includes Dr. Jiayu Wu, Dr. Sheila Clark, Ashley Kennard, Daniel Quinlan, Katrine Hesseldahl and Sam Johnson. The service designers are Hyojin Bae and Nayoon Lee. The concept designers are Patryk Musielak (NANO), YoungJae Kim (MOSEY), Jiaheng Wei (ENROUTE) and Dinesh Raman (SPAREVROOM).
MORPH was sponsored by Hyundai-Kia. The financial support enabled the Intelligent Mobility Design Centre of the Royal College of Art to conceive and explore new areas in transport experiences, vehicle design, digital technology integration, mobility systems and other research topics. We would like to thank Hyundai Motor’s German and Korean offices for their involvement in feedback and review during the research.
Special thanks to Dr. Cyriel Diels, Professor Stephen Boyd Davis and Professor Dale Harrow for reviewing and providing feedback during the research and for the final report.
Finally a special thank you to William Renel for designing the MORPH website, Jane Savory, Hannah Adeuya and Lulu Ishaq for managing the finance and logistics.
Launched in 2016 at the Royal College of Art, the Intelligent Mobility Design Centre (IMDC) leads research at the intersection of people, mobility and technology within a complex and changing urban and global environment.
The Royal College of Art is ranked the No. 1 art and design university by the QS World University Rankings, 2021.
© 2021 Royal College of Art
