Voi Electric scooter 2019
Working with vehicles is always fun and it's even more enjoyable at a startup where you can have direct conversations with the CEO about the design of the products!
I started designing some IOT add on boxes for a ninebot scooter to help out a friend at Voi. But we were soon designing a full fleet of next generation vehicles. Some of the design features they included were roll-in charging docks with automatic ride-end, swappable batteries and full aluminium construction to enable improved recyclability and environmentally aware scooter lifecycle. We were also looking at improving the findability of a scooter at night by having red underlighting and ability to flash the front light through the app. I also designed a more integrated and considered handlebar and brake lever, quick release top deck to swap the batteries,
The design intent was to design a scooter which had less visual noise. The scooter should do everything it can to help you locate it quickly and get underway as fast as possible. With that in mind, I tried to reduce the amount volumes to a single slick integrated shape. Most scooters have volumes which clash together, but the intent was this one was to feel protected by the front angled deck join to the main shaft and to make the main shaft really smooth into the lower decks.
Some details to discuss the roll-in charging dock, placement of lidar for when we launch autonomous drive, potential plywood deck with grippertape, and detailed handlebar.
I worked in VR with a 3D program called Gravity sketch to start with. It was easier to get a feel of how big the scooter was and how it would look and feel when riding it. It also helped me have a meeting with my main stakeholder, in particular to discuss the controls on the handlebar.
Detailing and development of footplates, handlebars and the rear fender.
