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Google Community Vehicle

GCV is designed to be multi-purpose mode of transport. To uplift farmers living and working condition in under served regions.

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Google Community Vehicle with the aim of having one mode of transport better the lives of the village as a collective. Paired with Google’s Loon Wi-Fi service, the community vehicle can be used as a tractor, an ambulance, and even as a kiosk at the local marketplace. A modular approach means one vehicle serves all. The automobile is built to withstand the rough conditions of rural India, and with internet connectivity, the community vehicle just opens up a wide variety of opportunities.
The vehicle is modular to be a farm vehicle which could also serve as an emergency vehicle for nearby areas. The vehicle can also be used as a taxi during off season, and continue to generate revenue hence no more farmer suicides(many farmers in India commit suicide during off-season).

Our research and personal experiences in rural India gave a common insight; where all the underserved area in India are facing poor road condition and connectivity issues. Hence no medical accessibility during emergency. These lead to other social issues. The underserved region majorly consist of the farmers.

Therefore we focused to work towards farming (their major source of livelihood) and medical attention. This could improve their standard of living and ways to travel. So the vehicle had to be simple to manufacture and low running cost. The vehicle must also be modular to be a farm vehicle which could also serve as an emergency vehicle for nearby areas. The vehicle can also be used as a taxi during off season, and continue to generate revenue hence no more farmer suicides(many farmers in India commit suicide during off-season.).

The vehicle can be a part of Google rural development program, where the vehicle is connected with Google's Loon Balloon. Which helps the farmer with better farming techniques, weather information etc. In return the farmer agrees to help during emergency. Farmers are given a credit for the help, which they can use for purchasing better seeds at subsidised cost.

In rural India bad roads are a very common site. Due to these bad road conditions poor farmer lose their little money to maintain these tyre which wear out faster and frequent punctures. All the potholes or bumps on the road reduces vehicle speed and increase fuel consumption which is again a big expense for poor farmers.

So the idea of reinventing the wheel for a new cause was important using basic physics. The wheel design is intuitively and simple. It has a 6 segments of triangle rubber blocks which has a gap in the centre concentric to the outer shape. These segments are mounted on a hexagonal hub. The segments are placed tangentially to the hub to produce maximum torque while in motion. Its unique placement of segments on the hub also helps with generating extra momentum when the wheel goes over a rock or obstacle. The segment deformed due to the rock or obstacle pushes the next segment which in turn pushes the next. Once the pushing action is passed through all the segment the last segment, one before the deformed segment which generate a traction on the ground surface to create extra momentum.

The benefit of this design is there is no pneumatic tyres, hence no puncture problems. If a portion of the wheel is worn out the whole tyre need not be required to change so its economical. The design of the tyre allows to absorb 70% of the road shocks, therefore more comfort on bad roads. The Tyre do not lose momentum due to obstacles or bad road so no loss in fuel economy.

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  • GCV progress

    Rajshekhar Dass04/18/2017 at 06:51 0 comments

    January 2016 - Winners of Michelin Challenge Design, Detroit

    January -June'16- Media and web publications in BBC, Discovery etc.

    March'16- Presented as a benchmark projects for innovation in few American schools

    May'16- Trying to contact Google for a presentation opportunity under their rural community development program.

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