Forget manufacturing cars. That's so 20th century. Growing cars -- now that's what we denizens of the new millennium have come to expect in the age of technology.
Designed by the Los Angeles based architecture and design firm Emergent, the Semi-Rigid Concept Car is built with a 3D printing technique that creates an outer body similar in both texture and form to cartilage.
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Constructed of polymers, resins, rubbers and silicone at the molecular level, the cartilage-like material would be placed on the car's frame in varying degrees of thickness, resulting in a body that is rigid in places needed to protect drivers and flexible in places where impacts occur. Unlike conventional cars, which upon impact crumple in the front and back, the Semi-Rigid Concept Car bounces back, absorbing the impact, while the cabin's structured frame keeps drivers safe.
The Semi-Rigid Concept Car would also use a blended construction process with materials that meld, rather than fasten to each other -- doing away with separate glass, machined steel and sheet metal attachment points.
Adding to the organic feel of this car in a shark's body concept, is Emergent's effort to power the vehicle with colonies of photosensitive algae located in reservoirs deep within the car's anatomy. LED lights embedded within the algae reservoirs would allow for round-the-clock fuel production, producing biofuel as the car needs it, even without sunlight.
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According to Emergent, “This car not only has the smooth exterior and aesthetic of the fastest sports cars around, but allows you the freedom of driving independently of gas pumps, or even of electric vehicle charging stations.”
[Via Inhabitat]
Tags: Auto, Biofuels, Cars, Concept Cars, Fuel and Alternative Fuel Technologies
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