Stowage Concepts for a Future Autonomous Car

Abstract

Abstract Autonomous vehicles are reshaping the way car interiors are designed today. With radical concepts for interiors being launched, the luggage brought into the car by the passenger raises new safety issues. This thesis is an exploration of design concepts for luggage retention solutions that could meet the demands of different usage scenarios of an AD (autonomous drive) car. Based on surveys, interviews, literature review and benchmarking, the team established the requirements from customer, company and market perspectives which was then referred to generate the morphological matrix. Using this, 22 concepts were developed. These concepts were put through rigorous screening and scoring until it was concluded to pursue three concepts for further development. The top two concepts were combined into one solution and pursued as the main product design for detailed engineering study. Another concept was also developed into a solution due to it being a unique and patentable product. The two solutions were drawn using CAD and the choice of material for each component was investigated with emphasis on cost and sustainability. Further, the designs were updated for ease of assembly and the time to assemble the product was estimated. For the final evaluation, working prototypes of the solution were fabricated and installed in the AD test rig.