Frame Job

- FIRST VIRTUAL MODEL OF EXOVAN COMPLETE -

It took some doing -- and these images do NOT represent the definitive version -- but here ya go. The virtual model was done as a single (intricate) 'part'. With the program I've been using, you get to select only one colour per part. A bit too late, I discovered (I think) that new parts can be created within an 'assembly'... I had thought that new parts had to be created separately before being joined together in an assembly -- my mistake. If you go to the gallery on the Alibre Design website, you'll see what a hard time those designers/engineers would've had, creating parts in separate windows...



Above, you see EXOVAN in olive, camouflaged... The lights highlighted in bright green are for off-road use, too bright for streets and highways -- the two pairs of smaller ones are the main headlights. If you click on it (all of these are clickable for larger versions) you may be able to make out a double pair of even smaller lights, which are turn signals...



Extrusion 1 (the second step in the process, after a line drawing) is highlighted in red above, showing (in blue) where some of the side windows are.



Here I've made use of a different colour scheme to highlight panels in varying copper shades, to show glass area around the cockpit.



Note the cooling exhaust vents above the front track. This is a design feature I've used on previous flat-panel concepts, but in a slightly different location.

You may notice that the rear is more exposed to potential damage than the top, front, and sides. Somehow, along the way, I became quite fond of the 'naked' EXOVAN body -- and when it came down to it I couldn't bring myself to clutter up the rear. In any case this is not an area where one expects much damage in off-road situations, even rollovers.


I've left the tracks floating in space on purpose. Any suspension and steering linkages, or drivetrain details, might be misconstrued -- as an automotive designer I am only PART engineer, so I won't try to fool anybody into believing I have everything figured out. Besides, this is only a quick-and-dirty first draft, merely an illustration of concept.

By the way, please don't tell me the exoframe just aft of the side portal is likely to get hung up on trees. If I were to do it over (and I probably will) I'd angle those sections out. Speaking of angles, the original concept called for sweeping curves in the exterior framing, which I may yet be able to produce with a 3D CAD program -- in a forthcoming virtual model.


A friend asked me a question recently about EXOVAN's steering. I can't answer about ratios, but it seems obvious that, unlike the Tesla Roadster, EXOVAN will require power assist (as will Tesla Motors' upcoming sports sedan, codenamed White Star). This assist, in the absence of an internal combustion engine (abbreviated ICE), must come from electric motors (plural -- EXOVAN features rear-steer). Toy remote-control vehicles have electric motors for steering. Suddenly I envisioned EXOVAN drivers being able to exit and pilot EXOVAN over particularly difficult terrain via remote control.

...And why not? Extreme rock-crawler drivers employ spotters to help guide them. Imagine being your own spotter, able to plainly see what your vehicle is up against while you yourself are at the controls. This could be done with a Wi-Fi laptop displaying all the views from EXOVAN's cameras (EXOVAN will feature only a pair of fisheye mirrors, the driver mainly relying on camera views).

Next: Lexus already has a car that will parallel-park itself. Imagine exiting the vehicle near your front door and watching it head off to its charging station by itself. You are confident that it will be waiting for you in the morning, charged and ready to go. The future is not only electric -- it is robotic as well.


In future posts, look for images manipulated with Photoshop to make EXOVAN look more real. You may also see some of my previous designs (I could be persuaded to scan old pencil sketches), and those discussions on a pair of timeless vehicles of others' design that I feel should be resurrected. However the very next one is likely to be about EXOVAN again...



Phil Smith
May 12, 2007



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