Concept Smart ebike Concept

Hey Folks..

First of all I apologize for the long absence. I've been lurking here everyday but never had the chance to write anything since I didn't want to start posting one-liners, but full replys.

Anyway, Part of why I wasn't around here is of course my Transportation Design studies, during which I did two Internships in the last year. Some of you already know about this. I have been from september09 to february10 at Audi's design studios in Ingolstadt. After that I had the chance to do a second internship from march10 till august10, this time at Mercedes-Benz Advanced design studio in Sindelfingen.

During the second internship I was given the task of designing an electrical Bike in collaboration with Electric bikes maker Grace of Berlin. I loved the task and though it would be a fun project to work on. So I started making my suggestions and presenting them to my bosses.
The design was recieved with a very positive feedback that the Board of Managemnet of Daimler decided to show the bike at the Paris Motorshow in october! we're talking about a project that started in June! so the Time plan was really intense, but I think that We did a good job on this one.

Well.. It's not a car, and I never imagined my first verhicle to be presented on an international motoshow would be a bike, but I really had a great fun doing the design for it and it was an overwhelming feeling to see the Bike at the smart stand and watch the visitors talk about it and taking pictures.

And because there is no thread about it here, I present you:

The smart ebike















The Making-Of video. You can see me sketching the design at 1:08

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That's splendid Hussein. I saw the bike at the show and Dieter Zetsche narrative was quite humorous as the presentation transitioned on from the bike to the moped and then to the electric A-Class. Great job on your side getting your name out there. You were probably holding a low profile unlike Hubert Lee who I first spotted in the VAG pavilion standing next to the crowd sourcing E-tron Spyder concept. I believe he was conversing with the young lad who penned the exterior design for the car. Stefan Sielaff also pointed out the interior designer to me during our brief exchange of words.

Thanx mate!
Actually I wasn't there at the press days. I visited the show on the first public day.

^Brilliant..im so happy for you man..
Keep up the good work

PS
What is the next step? are you still at MB ?

I am so happy for you Hussein, it really is quite an acheivement and the bike it self is really cool looking man, so what's your statut right now ? Are you still on internship or are a daimler employee now ?

Brilliant mate Brilliant hope you all the best in the futre and also i hope you stay at MB...

Well done Hussein, Im very happy for you and wish you all the best with the future.

I would also like to point out that you are always remembered whenever I come across the the new AMG vehicles with the square exhausts

Cliche' but a journey of 100 miles starts with 1 step. Congrats Hussein

Well hussein since you went through a complete concept procession, i would like to ask the following question, who's responsible of transforming sketches into real 3d models ?

Thank you guys.. really appreciate it
for those who asked: I'm back in pforzheim for my final semester befor the bachelor thesis project. so I have about one ahead of me befor I finish my studies.
what I did at Mercedes was a 6 months internship from march to august.

Well hussein since you went through a complete concept procession, i would like to ask the following question, who's responsible of transforming sketches into real 3d models ?

Click to expand...

The designer, whose design was chosen is responsible for the conversion in a 3d model. his or her job ist to work with the modelers to transfer the elements, proportions and the "spirit" of the sketches into a 1/4 scale model first and -if repicked- into a fullscale model.
So the deisgner leads a team of modelers who have the neccessary skills to build a clean model by giving them his instructions about what he/she wants the model to look like.

What about engineers ? Who says how big should a light be ? How much degrees should a certain line be curved etc ?

it's a cmplex process, but i'll try..
the intial design process is usually done very freely and without limitations.
the engineers work at the same time on a package that contains all the components.

if you take the curvature of a hood surface as an example, the designer is responsible for the excution and optimasation of it- as long as this corvature allows the engine to be contained under the hood. in that case, engineers would point out the case to the designer, who will have to come up with a different solution for the hood curvature.
so it's a kind of a ping-pong between designers and engineers, and depending on the case, either designers or engineers would have to take a compromise.

dicovery channel once accopmanied the development of the 6 series and the did a trilogy of documentaries about it. brilliant film that show the process as it is without hiding the problems that the team had to face to get the work done. watch it and most of your questions will be answered.

^Yea I remember seeing bits of that show, particularly about how the designers had to raise the roof line in the 11th hour cause the clearance was too low to seat an adult in the back or something like that.

Yes.. the roof issue was a very good example of how things work while developing a car.

getting back to the topic, here are some sketches and renderings from the design process:








A friend sent me this picture he took during the press days. do you recognize the guy on the right?

Is that BMW's chief designer or something?

Maybe Adriaan was looking for you with a job offer?

Beautiful design & awesome creation! Keep up the good job buddy & best of luck for your future!

smart ebike comes in 2012 - FAZ

FRANKFURT (Dow Jones) - Daimler will continue to offer under the smart brand not only cars but also bicycles and possibly electric scooters. The decision to build an ebike was made, smart leader Annette Winkler told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ - Thursday edition). "The ebike will be on the market next year." Europe, North America and the Middle East are the supposed markets.

http://www.maerkischeallgemeine.de/cms/beitrag/12076580/5934832/Daimler-Marke-smart-bringt-E-Bike-auf-den.html

update from Beijing



smart to Sell Electric Bicycle

BEIJING—Daimler AG's Smart division, known for its matchbox-size cars, plans to start selling an electric bicycle next year, according to Daimler officials.

The move could enable Daimler to jump ahead of competitors such as BMW AG, Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus and Volkswagen AG that have also shown interest in similar electric two-wheelers. Those three car makers have displayed at recent auto shows electric-bike and electric-motorcycle concepts, but none of them has disclosed plans for volume production or sales.

Most electric bikes marketed around the world today are bicycles that offer electric power to assist pedaling, though in some markets, including China, there are also versions that can be propelled solely on electricity.

Fully electric bicycles, as well as electric motorcycles and scooters, have become enormously popular in China in recent years, touted by some as a solution to China's transportation woes and embraced by commuters as a cheap, convenient alternative to cars. China is home to as many as 120 million electric bicycles, by some estimates. Their prevalence has also triggered a backlash, with some critics calling them a safety hazard because they are almost completely silent and capable of speeds up to 40 kilometers an hour.

Smart showed a concept version of its electric bicycle—which has electric pedal assistance and cannot be driven solely on electricity—last year at the Paris auto show, along with an all-electric scooter concept. The electric bike was designed primarily by a senior Daimler designer based in Beijing.

Smart Chief Executive Annette Winkler has disclosed recently that Smart had decided to launch the electric bicycle next year when it starts "volume production" of the bike, said Anthea Wang, a spokeswoman for Daimler's Mercedes-Benz unit in China.

Daimler has positioned the Smart brand as a marketer of edgier, more futuristic transportation ideas. "I think a brand like Smart needs that kind of innovation," Klaus Maier, a senior Daimler executive in China, said in an interview.

Neither Mr. Maier nor Ms. Wang would say in which markets the Smart electric bike will first go on sale. Ms. Wang said the company is still evaluating whether to launch the electric scooter as well.

Daimler's Smart electric bicycle has been inspired by battery-powered two-wheelers in China. It is one of the first vehicles that designer Olivier Boulay created after he was named in 2009 as chief designer for Mercedes-Benz's China unit.

"China is the perfect place to think about the future shape of mobility," Mr. Boulay told The Wall Street Journal in an interview in 2009.

Daimler AG's Smart Unit to Sell Electric Bicycle - WSJ.com


PS. Current real time traffic in Beijing via google maps traffic

Hey tell them that you designed it not olivier