"The Solis is a solar powered commuter vehicle designed to challenge how we think about parking in highly populated areas."
Semi-transparent solar panels on doors and roofing generate electric power, which is stored on board or sent back to the power grid if plugged in. Owners would get paid in return for the electricity generated as electric companies are forced by law to pay consumers the same rate as they charge.
The Solis plugs up with a retractable power cord to a specially designed parking meters and will provide the city with electricity through its solar panels and thereby pay for parking. When there’s lack of sunlight the parking meter acts as a changing station in exchange for payment.
Semi-transparent solar panels on doors and roofing generate electric power, which is stored on board or sent back to the power grid if plugged in. Owners would get paid in return for the electricity generated as electric companies are forced by law to pay consumers the same rate as they charge.
The Solis plugs up with a retractable power cord to a specially designed parking meters and will provide the city with electricity through its solar panels and thereby pay for parking. When there’s lack of sunlight the parking meter acts as a changing station in exchange for payment.
The Solis would be for anyone that commutes in highly populated areas but especially the “Eco chic”, who values the “hip factor” and the fashion statement equally to its environmental footprint.
The Solis combines the freedom of a motorcycle with the comfort and safety of a car to create new and better ways of commuting and parking in highly populated areas. Through market research, user research and examining competitor products such as the smart car, I found that perception and reality are two different things. The smart car showed incredible results in safety tests but still was not perceived as a safe car.
The Solis uses the same wheelbase as the smart car but with a visually lower center of gravity. Both passengers are placed in the center of the car protected by the wheels, which gives by far the best protection in a crash. Parking in cities and other highly populated areas is always a problem. The Solis is combustion free, takes up less space, contributes to the city with electricity but most importantly it makes people feel better about the commuting experience.
89% of people surveyed drive to work in a five-seat car by themselves but don't recognize that it's a problem because it has become a commodity.
The challenge was to create an understanding of everyday commuting and what problems people encounter, such as driving and parking in highly populated areas.
The most difficult part was to make a huge difference without making major changes to the layout and accessibility of the city itself. Part of the solution includes splitting existing parking spaces into two simply by painting a few extra lines and replacing regular parking meters with Solis charging meters.
The most difficult part was to make a huge difference without making major changes to the layout and accessibility of the city itself. Part of the solution includes splitting existing parking spaces into two simply by painting a few extra lines and replacing regular parking meters with Solis charging meters.
