Intelligent Mobility MA student Nicolà Borrer wins award at the Toyota Logistic Design Competition

Held biannually, the Toyota Logistic Design Competition challenges students to think up innovative, out-of-the-box ideas that provide sustainable solutions and strategies for problems in mobility and logistics.

This year’s theme, Every little bit counts, was born of the idea that the death of one thing gives life to another. Since our planet only has one life, the challenge this time around was promoting circular economy through logistics.

160 students submitted their creative concepts before ten finalists were selected and presented at Milan Design Week back in April. The three winning projects were announced at a ceremony at Toyota House in Paris during the Olympic Games.

Nicolà’s project envisions a circular and self-sufficient autonomous micro-mobility service for inclusive, sustainable cities in the future. Solar-assisted Micro Cabs transport people or cargo over short commutes in urban areas. A highly efficient parking method saves valuable city space and allows for energy balancing between the cabs. Each city will have their unique cabs, which are integrated in the local public transport network for a circular parts and material economy. The concept thrives as a network, with cabs communicating to efficiently meet all mobility needs. Using swarm intelligence, they distribute energy amongst the fleet and strategically park themselves to optimise availability and operations.

The project was developed as part of the first term of the Intelligent Mobility MA programme, ‘People and Places,’ which provides a framework to understand how and where future mobility fits into a changing global landscape and how people and place connect through mobility. The unit aims to introduce students to the scope and limits of different mobility typologies within the mobility mix and highlights the need for design to meet broader infrastructural and social requirements.