POD

What it does

The POD is a multi-function furniture which can be a bench for daily life and a lifeboat for the flooding coming. Moreover, it can be a transportation during the flooding period. And The design can transform to the different mode in a minute.

Your inspiration

Because of Global warming causes the intense storms and flooding frequently. And cause the most damage and the biggest loss of life. then, The low middle-income countries are the most affected because of lacking the infrastructure. The meaning of pod is that pod is the organ of plants. It uses the tough shelter to protect the seeds and bring the new life to a safe place. Just like my design.

How it works

The POD designed for low-income area people who face superstorm and flooding issues more frequently. Lightweight, low cost and durable materials are used in the POD. And through the foldable features. Greatly reduce the volume before assembly, reduce the cost of transportation and inventory. The simple structure can be assembled by users themselves, saving the resources of the manufacturer's assembly. This design project also welcomes the printing of any advertisements on the hull in order to earn income subsidies and production costs. There is another feature, such as the POD attached the paddles and the paddles can single use for two people or combine two paddles for one people. The POD provides a storing space to put the life jacket and first aid kit.

Design process

After to interview some NGO and flood victims. To sum up, the people lack crisis awareness is the main point to cause severe loss of human life. Therefore, need to design a product which can assimilate into their daily life to let the lifesaving tools add value. Make it easier for people to accept. Bench is a very common furniture in the target area, the low middle-income countries and often occurs storms and flooding. Origami is the way to connect bench and boat. Origami just like a magic, it can very easy to transform the shape of the object by 2D to 3D. After to fold so many different types of paper boat and to find the suitable paper boat and transform to be bench. And design a frame to reinforce the structure and balance the bench function and boat function. For material selection, find some similar products for reference, such as "Oru Kayak".

How it is different

While many projects exist or are being developed which tackle the problem of preventing floods and foldable boat. The POD is unusual in that it is a multi-function furniture for daily life and affordable.

Future plans

Look for more suitable materials for the main body, not just a single material, it may be a composite material or multiple layers. Further testing and reinforce the structure and reliability of the frame. Find a manufacturer to make a fully functional prototype to test and send the project to the Non-profit organization to seek cooperation.

Awards