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Photojournalists, especially those embedded or covering remote and/or dangerous regions of the world would likely benefit from a vehicle specifically designed to help them overcome the daily challenges they face. Dillon Kane, an automotive design student at Lawrence Technological University, seemed to think so too. He recently won Magna International’s ‘Main Event’ design competition for his concept called ’30 degrees West,’ a futuristic car that we can only describe as an Inspector Gadgetmobile for visual journalists.
The competition is held annually prior to the North American International Auto Show, and this year, judges asked young automotive designers to dream up a new vehicle that might debut in the year 2030.
Sure, the vehicle rendering looks a bit like a riding lawnmower, but it would actually be packed with intelligent technology and design. Kane’s design features compartments for gear located on all sides of the vehicle (that apparently open and close in near silence) and a ladder pops out from the back of the vehicle to allow journalists a higher vantage point. Of course, if standing on the roof still isn’t high enough, the vehicle has a built in drone, also located on the roof, that can be launched for aerial coverage. Because duh, it’s the future and drones.
Additionally, the vehicle would be covered with smart sensors and cameras to record information about one’s environment, and a built-in ‘gentle light’ is also included in the design to create some flattering light for portraits on the fly. While some aspects of its design may seem like they need more hashing out (like the fact that it is not autonomous and must be piloted), it’s pretty cool to see a vision for a car designed specifically with photographers in mind.
So what do you think of Kane’s design, is it something you’d drive? Or better yet, how would you improve upon it to make it truly meet the needs of traveling photographers? Let us know in the comments!
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)