Driving towards the future: developing the autonomous-electric vehicles identity and its impact on architecture

Abstract

For over a hundred years, the internal combustion engine has been the primary method powering our vehicles. Initially perfected in Germany and France, American Henry Ford would bring the automobile to the masses with the development of the assembly line. Along with the development of the automobile, mortality rates have increased due to vehicular accidents and environmental pollution. For a few years, automobile companies have been developing new vehicles that use less gasoline, produce fewer emissions, and prevent accidents. Autonomous-electric vehicles bring about a future of enhanced comfort and convenience. Time spent while traveling will be revolutionized, cityscapes roadways and parking lots will require less space, and stress from driving will be outdated. Most importantly, lives will be saved and the planet will be less polluted, creating a new transportation method whose identity will be of comfort. To develop an understanding of why autonomous-electric vehicles will be about comfort and convenience, analytical research will focus on the understanding of "Identity", the understanding of the public psychology of the innovative technology, and projected 1 Weingroff, Richard F. "Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956: Creating The Interstate System." U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration. Summer 1996. Accessed July 20, architecture as a result of this new vehicle typology. This understanding of why autonomous electric vehicles identity is comfort will then be used to develop an architectural design project to illustrate a new typology for the built environment.