4th year PDE student, Zoe Graham, set to work with leading car designer, Ian Callum, to explore design & engineering solutions that could help thousands of disabled motorists
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| GSA Product Design Engineering student, Zoe Graham |
22-year old Zoe Graham, a fourth-year BEng student of Product Design Engineering at The Glasgow School of Art/Glasgow University has won the chance to work with leading design consultancy, CALLUM and Motability Operations to help design and engineer an electric Wheelchair Accessible Vehicle (eWAV) prototype it was revealed today (22 February 2023). The aim is to encourage more industry innovation and help ensure future Electric Vehicle mobility is accessible for everyone.
Motability Operations supplies approximately 30,000 Wheelchair-Accessible Vehicles (WAVs) through the Motability Scheme, with around 4,000 applications each year for the small and medium WAVs that are generally less cumbersome and cheaper to run. However, these customers face additional practical challenges and higher costs as the industry moves towards Electric Vehicles. The architecture of an Electric Vehicle, with the battery located in the floor, proves problematic for eWAV conversion as it reduces internal height and usable space in the cabin while also limiting the available payload.
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| GSA PDE students at the “design hack” working on ideas for wheel-chair accessible Electric Vehicles |
Dumfries-born Zoe was one of 150 students at the GSA and the University of Coventry to take part in “design hacks” at which the students proposed solutions to the complex issue of providing accessibility and utilising internal space to make electric vehicles adapted for wheelchair users.
Along with Yikuan Zhang, a third-year Bachelor of Arts student studying Automotive and Transportation Design at Coventry University, Zoe will now have a paid placement at CALLUM to progress an eWAV prototype under the guidance of its design director and GSA alumnus, Ian Callum CBE (who designed the Aston Martin car driven by Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in Die Another Day) and engineering director Adam Donfrancesco, as well as the support of Motability Operations and insight from its customers.
“When I read the eWAV brief I felt inspired,” says Zoe. “It’s such an important and interesting design and engineering problem that could really benefit people. Even as a school child, I wanted to make robotic limbs for people with disabilities: I would like to use my skills to design products that continue to improve the quality of people’s lives. With my initial eWAV design, I wanted the user to have the best experience possible while also offering something ‘cool’ that has the new-age, exciting feel that most electric cars have today.”
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| Leading car designer and GSA alumnus, Ian Callum CBE |
Ian Callum, design director at CALLUM, was impressed by the ingenuity of the solutions suggested by all the students: “This is an incredibly complex problem that needs to be addressed today to ensure that no one is left behind as the automotive industry moves towards its next electric evolution,” he says. “It’s wonderful to get a glimpse at the next generation of talent and ideas that will soon enter the sector.”
During the judging process, the teams at CALLUM and Motability Operations were impressed by Zoe and Yikuan’s creativity and how she conveyed her novel solution, which has the potential to create more space for users.
“Both Zoe and Yikuan stood out for their understanding of the brief, their novel and creative ideas, and how well they were able to communicate these. At CALLUM we understand the importance of supporting the next generation of talent, of nurturing the innovators of tomorrow and sharing ideas and knowledge. We are looking forward to working with them to develop a viable, scalable eWAV solution to drive further innovation in the field and support all motorists to make the transition to EVs.”
Andrew Miller, CEO at Motability Operations, says: “WAVs provide freedom and independence for lots of our Motability Scheme customers every day. Solving this problem is vital, so we can support our WAV drivers when they switch to an electric vehicle in the future. Everyone at Motability Operations is excited to see this opportunity come to life and we hope Zoe and Yikuan, along with the team at CALLUM, can develop a working solution for the WAV industry.”
As an alumnus of The Glasgow School of Art Ian Callum is part of the institution’s international Creative Network of graduates.
“The Glasgow School of Art’s Creative Network was set up in 2019 as an innovative, vibrant and dynamic way to support and maintain relationships with our global network of graduates and industry partners,” says Creative Network manager, Sam DeS antis. “Enabling our graduates to collaborate and to instigate projects with our students is one of the founding principles of the initiative.”
“We are delighted that our current students have had the opportunity to learn from and work with Ian Callum, and that Zoe will now have the chance to be a part of this important and innovative project.”
Zoe and Graham and Yikuan will begin work with the CALLUM design and engineering teams in March to develop an eWAV prototype that will be revealed in late autumn 2023.
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For further information on The Glasgow School of Art contact:
Lesley Booth, 0779 941 4474 / press@gsa.ac.uk
For further information on the CALLUM/Motabilty Operations project contact
Nick Bailey & Mel Wicks
Elan PR Ltd
T: +44 (0) 1295 780411
M: +44 (0) 7813 956664 / +44 (0)7835 590481
nick@elan-pr.com / mel@elan-pr.com
Notes for editors
About the Motability Scheme:
· The Motability Scheme is the UK’s leading car scheme for disabled people. It provides affordable, convenient, worry-free motoring to over 650,000 disabled customers and their families. Scooters and powered wheelchairs can also be leased through the Motability Scheme.
· The Scheme is available to anyone who receives the Higher Rate Mobility Component of the Disability Living Allowance, the Enhanced Rate of the Mobility Component of Personal Independence Payment or the War Pensioners’ Mobility Supplement or the Armed Forces Independence Payment. Customers transfer their mobility allowance to Motability Operations Ltd to lease a car, scooter or powered wheelchair.
· The Motability Scheme is operated by Motability Operations Ltd, for over 40 years Motability Operations Ltd has worked to provide accessibility for millions of customers.
· By leveraging its purchasing power, Motability Operations Ltd ensures its customers benefit from affordable prices. Vehicle leases available on the scheme are 45% cheaper on average than alternate leasing options.
· Any profits generated by the Scheme are invested for the benefit of disabled people. This includes donations to Motability, the Charity so it can provide additional support such as grants to disabled people.
· When leasing a Motability Scheme car, customers enjoy insurance for three named drivers, servicing and maintenance, full RAC breakdown assistance, tyre and windscreen replacement and 60,000 mileage allowance over three years all included in the cost of the lease. A range of popular car adaptations are also available at no additional cost.
· When leasing a scooter or powered wheelchair, insurance, breakdown assistance, servicing, maintenance and repairs and tyre and battery replacement are all included in the cost of the lease. Pricing is standard nationwide.
· Motability Operations Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under reference number 735390.
· Motability is a Registered Charity in England and Wales (number 299745) and a Registered Charity in Scotland number SC050642, and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (reference number 736309). Motability provides a range of scheme- related grants to individuals, who would otherwise be unable to afford the mobility solution they need.
www.motabilityoperations.co.uk
Motability Operations media contacts
Jack Batey, Dimitra Papoutsakis or Stacey Stockwell at Siren Communications:
020 7759 1150 / MotabilityOperations@sirencomms.com
About CALLUM
CALLUM is a design and engineering business creating bespoke and limited-edition products.
CALLUM is focused on design, lifestyle and travel, taking on projects that intrigue, excite and tell a story. It is a collaboration of talented individuals with experience across art, audio, automotive, fashion and motorsport brands.
Nimble and agile, CALLUM produces exquisite design supported by quality execution, with its 30,000 sq. ft Warwick facility housing the latest technology to deliver design, prototyping, machining and trim services.
Amongst its founding members is British designer Ian Callum CBE, admired for his prolific automotive work, which includes the Aston Martin Vanquish, Vantage and DB9, Jaguar F-Type, F-PACE, XJ and, most recently, the World Car of the Year Award-winning I-PACE, amongst others.
About The Glasgow School of Art Creative Network
The Glasgow School of Art Creative Network was established in 2019 as an innovative, vibrant and dynamic approach to supporting and maintaining relationships with our global network of graduates and industry partners.
Creating the conditions so that our Creative Network of graduates have supported and accessible routes back into the GSA to collaborate and instigate projects with our students is one of the founding principles of the initiative.
Glasgow School Of Art Creative Network contact:
Sam De Santis, GSA Creative Network Manager