[Vol.1] What is a Personalized Mobility Experience? An Ideathon for Designing Innovative Mobility.

  • #REDESIGN MOBILITY IDEATHON
  • #EVENT REPORT

The DRIVE MYSELF PROJECT is a co-creation project between NISSAN and the next generation focused on creating new value in the world. An ideathon to create innovative mobility concepts was hosted in August 2023 with the aim of coming up with tangible and intangible new ideas related to mobility. Twenty-two unique members of the next generation in their teens and twenties participated alongside engineers and young employees working in advanced technology development at NISSAN.

This article introduces the work produced in the ideathon and the resulting innovative mobility concepts created by each group.

Each individual group member brought unique perspectives to the collaboration, including an entrepreneur focused on solving social issues, artists and expressionists overflowing with imagination, and designers and engineers who can bring people’s ideas to life. By bringing these people together, a wide variety of mobility experiences were conceptualized.

(The following Volume 2 article will introduce the input talks given during the ideathon by guest speakers Ory Yoshifuji, Asako Tsuji, and Toshiyuki Nakajima. The guests spoke about their own experiences and their thoughts on the event theme before having a Q&A session which further stimulated the creativity of the participants.)

PROJECT MEMBERS

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INDEX

Work process

The participants in this year's Ideathon came up with new ideas on the following themes.

THEME

“How can mobility enrich our lives?”

  • Services, spaces, products, etc.
    Designing the intangible and tangible experience of mobility
  • Positive, unique, enriching, etc.
    Creating original value-based ideas

The goal was to create ideas that focused not only on beautiful car design and technological improvements, but also on the simple experience of mobility.

Ideathon participants were divided into seven groups where they shared their own perspectives with their team members. Based on their own individuality, the participants came together to think of ideas related to mobility and its place in society at large. Each group strengthened their ideas by referring to the talks given by three guest speakers at the beginning of the ideathon.

Finally, each group presented one innovative mobility concept they came up with at the ideathon.
(Input talks by the guest speakers are featured in the Volume 2 article. The guests spoke about their own experiences and their thoughts on the event theme before having a Q&A session which further stimulated the creativity of the participants.)

The venue for the ideathon was DAWN ver.β, an "avatar robot cafe" that is putting new mobility experiences into practice. At this cafe, people who have difficulty leaving their homes can take orders and deliver drinks to customers while remotely controlling the "OriHime" & "OriHime-D" avatar robots.

Project members actively communicated with the people remotely operating the OriHime and OriHime-D avatar robots, the “OriHime pilots.” This was a good opportunity that helped the project members think of new ideas.
(Read more about the avatar robot cafe DAWN ver.β in the Volume 2 article)

Input talk:"Mobility Technology and the Future of Mobility Experiences"

Toshiyuki Nakajima, who has been involved in the development of next-generation mobility at NISSAN, took the stage for the input talk held in the first half of the ideathon. He explained the changes in the automobile industry and the evolution of mobility technologies in the future.

The automobile industry has changed dramatically over the past few years and about a decade ago people started calling it a once-in-a-century period of change. Three main values of vehicles—the mobility value, functional value, and spatial value—have evolved significantly.

Mobility value

is the driving performance which enables safe and comfortable travel.An example is the driving support system represented by NISSAN's advanced technology "Pro Pilot". This system can make decisions to automatically stop or decelerate in advance when a car or pedestrian is detected. Electric motors can also greatly reduce vehicle vibrations.

Functional value

includes car features such as audio, video screens, air conditioning, outlets, and more. The power for NISSAN’s electric vehicles can be supplied by a large-capacity battery, enabling the vehicle to obtain the power necessary for daily life as well as in an emergency.

Space value

is the value of private space. The concept of mobility can be improved by making use of the space inside the vehicle, such as using it as a working space.

Nakajima:By making good use of the space in the car, you can do anything, anywhere. You can get in the car right after work and go out to play, or you can work in the car in a scenic location.

For instance, a mobile house converted from a light-weight truck could be a good example.. They have a lot of potential as a private mobile space.

I would like to encourage everyone to think freely about mobility. Please rethink your stereotypes about cars and think about the mobility experience with a new perspective.

Group work and presentations

The ideathon consisted of groups A through G. Based on each member's ideas, the participants solidified their concepts while thinking about the future they wanted to create through mobility experiences.

Each group's presentation was reviewed by guests Ory Yoshifuji (Director, OryLab Inc.), Asako Tsuji (President and Creative Director, arca Inc.), and Toshiyuki Nakajima, who gave their impressions.

The following section will introduce four of the groups’ concept work and presentations, as well as their resulting new, innovative mobility concepts they formed by combining each member’s personalities and experiences.

Group.A

The mobility concept of
"encounters" and "goodbyes"

Members

  • [object Object]

    Rainbow

    Rainbow World Producer
  • [object Object]

    LILI

    Photographer
  • [object Object]

    FUTA

    Engineer
  • [object Object]

    Yuuta

    Multi-generational Mixed Coordinator

Concept work

Group A brought together members with diverse backgrounds, including an engineer, a photographer and community coordinators. Although their daily activities are different, they shared many of the same feelings and experiences associated with "encounters" and "goodbyes."

One member mentioned that they have been to many funerals, and that this led to them wanting to treasure memories.

In order to create memories, the group developed the idea of "emotional sharing" before going to a destination. In the end, they came up with a large-scale concept that focused on the history of life and universal emotions.

Concept

We create a world where "emotional presence" overflows into the world through the mobility of history on both sides and where a "soul revolution" can take place.

FUTA:This is a highly abstract concept, but the "history of both sides" is the accumulation of memories and history up to now. I think it would be interesting if we could exchange the accumulation of each other's experiences.

“Emotional presence" is, for example, communicating with the person who is operating the avatar robot "OriHime." I wanted to emphasize the importance of conveying emotions to someone from different locations.

Presentation

Rainbow:We propose the idea of a "Vibes Bus". On the bus ride to a festival, everyone can get together and have a club-like experience. For example, if you think about going to a festival alone, it may be easy enough to buy the tickets, but afterwards, you might not be able to enjoy the trip because it's lonely and hectic.

With the "Vibes Bus," you can enjoy the experience to the fullest while exchanging your emotions and experiences with others, even when you are attending alone.

Yuuta:We also wanted to enjoy the process of getting to our destination. With this wish in mind, we came up with the idea of designing "encounters" and "goodbyes."

FUTA:The way it works is that festival organizers pay money to the "Vibes Bus" management company, which then provides the service to festival participants. Users pay a fee to the festival organizer, and the money goes to the management.

Rainbow:The "Vibes Bus" can be customized freely, so it can be used not only for festivals, but also for all kinds of transportation, from graduation ceremonies and camps to even welfare needs.

Guest speakers' impressions

Yoshifuji: I can really empathize with the fact that the level of satisfaction can vary greatly depending on the emotions leading up to an event.

Tsuji: I think many people would want to ride in a decorated bus to a festival! This was a friendly, fun, and diverse group.

Nakajima: I like how the transportation becomes part of the experience at the destination, making it even more valuable!

Group.B

Eliminating the hassle of mobility

Members

  • [object Object]

    Neon Takase

    Digital Creator
  • [object Object]

    Yuzu-chan

    Student Nomad
  • [object Object]

    RINO

    Designer

Concept work

Group B consists of a member who finds joy in traveling and members who are designers and creators. They are all full of energy. The team delved into ideas on the "advantages of real mobility," which has become a way of life for each member.

What drew sympathy among the team members was the feeling that moving around is a hassle when trying to visit a new place. They worked with a concept to create a travel experience that would be an extension of "everyday life," where you find yourself arriving at your destination before you realize it.

Concept

By giving mobility to the "private space," we can create a world in which places to return to become abundant, happy and unexpected things can occur, and where, before we know it, we are moving.

Yuzu-chan: One of the moments we feel happy is when something unexpected happens on a trip or at a destination. But at the root of this is our own daily life and routine. I believe the best way to experience travel is to pack my bag with my daily routine.

Presentation

Yuzu-chan: Our idea for a "free-range room" is a mobility concept in which the entire private space in the house, such as a bedroom or work space, moves. I think one of the reasons for the low usage rate of travel-related subscriber services is that they only stick with people who want to travel.

It is different from the feeling of going on a trip, because it is "your room" itself that moves you. Even when you want to experience something a little out of the ordinary, you can create an experience where you find yourself on the move.

Neon Takase: I'll explain how it works. When the user is at home, he/she specifies a rough destination and a radius of kilometers, and the system moves to that location with his/her room as a car.

The user moves with the car on the way to the destination, but on the way back home, the car moves to the house itself. We believe that happy unexpected encounters will occur in the process of "going to catch" the house from the destination.

Rino: For example, if I want to work by the sea, I can set a place where I can hear the sound of the sea. If I don't want to go too far away, I can set a condition such as within 100 km. By going to a place where you have your own private space and "everyday life," you can also experience the "extraordinary" by going there.

Guest speakers' impressions

Tsuji: Having a bed seems like it would allow me to work as soon as I wake up without wasting time. It would expand the range of my work and ideas.

Nakajima: It also adds to the enjoyment of traveling to and from work. It is the ultimate fusion of living space and transportation. The concept of "place" will change.

Group.D

A mobility experience that connects the five senses

Members

  • [object Object]

    Risa

    Designer
  • [object Object]

    Matcha Airi

    Matcha Creator
  • [object Object]

    TARO

    Traveling Multi-Disciplinary Creator

Concept work

Group D gathered creators and designers with strong sensitivities. The driving force for each member was happiness and excitement, and their ideation proceeded with a focus on the five senses that give rise to these feelings.

Group D deepened their discussion on the "experiences" gained by visiting various places via the mobility experience and arrived at the conclusion that sharing these experiences would create new connections with others.

Concept

By giving mobility to the five senses (and creating new stimuli), we will create a world that is happy and free from loneliness, where people can exchange their feelings with each other and deep connections between people can occur.

TARO: You can make new encounters and discoveries by visiting various places, but there may be cases where it is difficult to physically move. However, we want to stick to realistic experiences. The idea for a way to achieve this goal was to create a robot alter-ego. I thought it would be great if I could travel to various places using my five senses even if I couldn't physically move.

Presentation

Risa: Our idea for a new mobility experience is a pocket-sized portable device that allows you to carry scents and share memories with anyone, anywhere. Scents associated with encounters, farewells, and memories and scenes with loved ones are captured and can be recreated on your device at any time. Sharing memories, including scents, can deepen the emotional connection between people. We would like to create such a moving experience.

Matcha Airi: As for how it works, we're thinking of a service that allows users to give scents to loved ones or people they want to share memories with at any time. I hope it can be used across generations, for example you could share memories with your grandmother. Not only can you enjoy the scent with your family, but since it's the size of a lipstick, you can plug it in and use it on the go.

TARO: We often use videos and photos as a means of sharing memories and experiences, but if we utilize our sense of smell, we can convey a realistic sense of a place. I believe that communicating through the five senses will move people's hearts. We named it "Fragrance Travel" because it takes you on a trip through scent.

Guest speakers' impressions

Yoshifuji: It is interesting to consider that there are fragrances associated with different occasions and that they are closely related to memories.

Nakajima: Scent is strongly connected to memories. It can bring back memories in an instant, and it also raises expectations for new mobile experiences.

Group.E

Breaking down stereotypes through cultural migration

Members

  • [object Object]

    YUTO

    “AnoNatsuwoToriModose Project” Founder
  • [object Object]

    Inventor Ricky

    Inventor
  • [object Object]

    AOI

    Eventer

Concept work

Group E, a group consisting of an inventor and people involved in event and project management, shared a common goal: to break the stereotypes of "this is the way it should be."

In discussing how to break stereotypes, a breakthrough came to them-the idea of a drifting World Heritage site, a place that would normally be unthinkable and would totally disrupt the preconceived notions of what a World Heritage site is.

Concept

We want to create a world where encounters with the unknown are commonplace through cultural migration. People can encounter new possibilities when stereotypes collapse.

AOI: I believe that the collapse of stereotypes is not something that can happen intentionally. Therefore, we thought about accidentally encountering a completely different history and culture. We aim to open up new possibilities by disrupting "how things should be."

Presentation

Inventor Ricky: Our mobility concept is a "cultural message bottle." When you hear the term "message bottle," you probably think of a small bottle with a piece of paper in it, and the idea is to do that on the scale of an artificial island.

In other words, we would create an artificial island with various cultures, such as World Heritage sites, and float it out to sea. Since the island will drift on the ocean currents freely, we can enjoy the mystery of not knowing where it will end up.

The implementation period is envisioned to be around 2050. The purpose of this idea is to preserve World Heritage sites. With concerns about rising sea levels across the globe, it goes without saying that we need to protect cultural capital and World Heritage sites. We believe that by consolidating them into one and managing them on a global level, we can protect cultural assets for the next generation.

AOI: We have the following story in mind for the user experience: a teenage boy is walking along the beach when an artificial island with an entire interactive world museum appears. He jumps on it with excitement and curiosity. As a result, he comes into contact with cultures and values he had never known before, and new possibilities open up.

Guest speakers' impressions

Yoshifuji: The unexpected combination of movement and cultural assets to facilitate an encounter with the future is wonderful.

Tsuji: Just like painting on a canvas, if we build our own culture on an island or in a town, it will be a real "It's a Small World" that we have never seen before. What a wonderful idea!

Guest speakers' review:Ory Yoshifuji, Asako Tsuji, and Toshiyuki Nakajima

After each group's presentation, we asked Yoshifuji, Tsuji, and Nakajima for their overall impressions of the event. (The input talks by the three guests is presented in the Volume 2 article)

Yoshifuji: I was excited by the many interesting ideas that everyone came up with. I am sure that through today's discussion, some of you may have come up with ideas that you would like to pursue.

「I think it is very important to have that "I want to do it!" feeling. When I get an idea, I immediately go to Tokyu Hands, a DIY store, and buy materials and start making it. Sometimes I work through the night, and I get so absorbed that in the morning I wonder what I was doing last night. I can't stop that enthusiasm. I want to tell you that it is important to act as soon as possible on that "Let's do this!" feeling that you felt at today's workshop.

By creating something with your own hands, your imagination will be stimulated even more. There may be times when you feel like giving up because things don't work out, but the challenge itself is a valuable experience. I started this cafe through a series of such ideations and challenges. I hope that you too will give shape to your bold imagination.

Tsuji: When talking about ideas and creativity, it is often said that both stages of conception and implementation are important. For example, if we consider a Studio Ghibli film, Hayao Miyazaki, as director, comes up with the idea, and Toshio Suzuki, as producer, implements it. It is difficult to give form to an idea alone, and things tend to get lost in the process of verbalizing and communicating the excitement of the idea in your head.

For this reason, I believe that the power behind the scenes to bring ideas to fruition is also important. As a creative director, I would like to support you in giving shape to your unique ideas.

Tsuji: The next step might be to think about how to realize an idea. Just as creative people look for someone who is a producer, it is good to find a partner who can give shape to your idea.

You could ask someone you know, "Will you work with me to make this idea a reality?" or you could even collaborate with a company like NISSAN.

The important thing is not to keep your ideas to yourself, but to keep trying to give shape to them. If you do so, you will be able to experience the joy of fully creating something someday. Let's make the most of today's invaluable experience by connecting it to your next one.

Nakajima: It was really interesting to see so many ideas that challenged the concept of mobility. It is said that humans were born in Africa, and there is a history of only mobile species spreading throughout the world. Perhaps mobility is an instinctive desire of human beings. I believe that attempting to turn mobility into something valuable is something that appeals to people's instincts.

I believe that your unique perspectives and ideas have greatly expanded the possibilities of mobility. It would be a shame to see your ideas end here. I would love to see them materialized in some form to enhance the value of the mobility experience one day.

Project members' overall impressions

Below are some of the answers from the questionnaire project members filled out after the ideathon.

Hana: This ideathon has made me think a lot about the depth of mobility. Mobility is not just a means of transportation, but exists to realize one's desires beyond that. I came up with the hypothesis that it may be impossible to fulfill our emotions without movement. If a person can fulfill themselves through physical and mental mobility, this world may become happier and more peaceful.

Moeto Yamauchi: I realized that in order to transform the mobility experience, we need to not only design a car, but also consider various external factors such as roads, laws, and ethical issues. I learned that it is very important to first create a prototype to get an idea out of our minds, and then proceed with discussions as we develop the idea.

Toshihiro: From the ideathon, I feel that people should "move their own lives" and connect with people and places in the world through mobility. I believe that the experience of moving around will bring richness to our lives!

In the Volume 2 article we introduce the input talks by Ory Yoshifuji, Asako Tsuji, and Toshiyuki Nakajima. Please check it out!

IDEATHON
REPORTS

[Vol.2] What Drives You? Inspirational Talks onRedesigning the MobilityExperiences.

[Vol.1] What is a PersonalizedMobility Experience? An Ideathonfor Designing Innovative MobilityExperiences.

projects

Project1

redesignmobilityideathon

What is my unique experience with mobility?

Project2

lifestyleprototyping

What is my unique way og living?

Project3

creativediscoverychallenge

What is my unique perspective on creative?

UPDATE!