Eco'Trip (concept design)

Eco'Trip (concept design)
Houssem Douik, Industrial Product Designer
Sousse, Tunisia
behance.net/houssemDouik

Houseem Douik is a creative industrial product designer based in the vibrant city of Sousse, Tunisia. Douik conceptualized and designed the two passegner Eco'Trip electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) concept design aircraft for advanced air mobility (AAM) for his for his student design graduation project. The aircraft also drives on the ground and is an amphibious craft. The Eco'Trip concept design vehicle was part of earning his degree as an Industrial Product Designer at the Tunis Institute of Fine Arts (Tunis, Tunisia).

Douik has a commitment to human-centered design and is committed to the end-user experience and strives to develop products that enhance people's lives. This can be seen in the Eco'Trip where he focuses on ergonomics, usability, designs that are pleasing to the eye and strives to make the controls intuitive for the pilot.

Eco'Trip two passenger eVTOL concept design aircraft, ground vehicle and water craft
The Eco'Trip is a modern compact two passenger eVTOL concept design aircraft, ground vehicle and water craft. The vehicle has one pilot and carries one passenger with their luggage. The aircraft has a canopy over the cockpit and its fuselage is carbon fiber composite. The estimated cruise speed is 115 km/h (71 mph) and has a flight time of 60 minutes. The aircraft has four electric ducted fans (EDFs), four electric motors and is powered by lithium ion batteries. The empty weight of Eco'Trip is estimated to be 350 kg (772 lbs), has a maximum payload of 200 kg (441 lb) and has a maximum takeoff weight of 550 kg (1,213 lbs). The aircraft has tricycle wheels used as landing gear, ground travel and water travel.

One of the major innovations for Eco'Trip is the tilting mechanism for the four tilting and translating electric ducted fans. The two rear fans are mounted on the horizontal tail surface which is raised, for clearance issues, when the vehicle is driving on roads and lowered for flight operations. The front fans are on a track allowing them to move from the lower front for flight and to the upper back of the vehicle for ground propulsion. All four fans tilt from horizontal to vertical. Only the front two fans are used for surface propulsion and they reverse thrust for braking. When the craft is in water, the fans provide propulsion as well as the wheels.

The battery pack is located at the rear of the aircraft that is seen in rear views as a yellow container. Douik planned an Eco'Trip solar recharging station as well. The main market for this vehicle would be for a personal transportation. It is small enough to fit in a parking space and inside a garage. This vehicle also has a detect and avoidance system and ballistic parachutes for each passenger and for the vehicle itself.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: 2 passenger eVTOL aircraft, roadable and amphibious vehicle
• Piloting: 1 pilot (Navigation: Global Positioning System with detect and avoid system)
• Capacity: 1 passenger
• Cruise speed: 115 km/h (71 mph)
• Total continuous motor power: 535 kw (720 hp)
• Flight time: 60 minutes
• Empty weight: 350 kg (772 lb)
• Maximum payload: 200 kg (441 lb)
• Maximum takeoff weight: 550 kg (1,213 lb)
• Propellers: 4 electric ducted fans (EDFs)
• Electric motors: 4 electric motors
• Power source: Lithium ion cells
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Dimensions: 3 m (9.8 ft) length x 2.9 m (9.5 ft) wide x 2 m (6.5 ft) height
• Window: Canopy over cockpit
• Landing gear: Fixed tricycle landing gear and can land on any surface including water
• Safety features: Distributed Electric Propulsion (DEP), provides safety through redundancy for its passengers and/or cargo. DEP means having multiple propellers (or ducted fans) and motors on the aircraft so if one or more propellers (ducted fans) or motors fail, the other working propellers (or ducted fans) and motors can safely land the aircraft. There are also redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft. There is a multiple ballistic emergency parachute system. There are 2 ballistic parachutes, 1 for each passenger and 1 emergency ballistic parachute for the vehicle.

Resources:

• Houssem Douik Art Station
• Houssem Douik Behance
• Houssem Douik Facebook