lightcraft_laser_propulsion_vehicle

So…we just kicked off our vehicle interior project here at UID and it’s going to be an awesome/unique ten weeks. Along with the 2nd year product and interaction design masters programs, we’re designing the entire  experience of traveling in a vehicle capable of hypersonic speeds through laser beam propulsion technology.  Really hard to take it all in, but basically we’re talking tractor beams, pusher beams, vehicles boosting out of the atmosphere, coasting through space vacuums, zero G’s, 45 minute travel times to the other side of the Earth, 6-8 minute low Earth orbit and basically too much to even consider. So, stayed tuned for the work as it progresses. I’ll eventually set up a category for this and post all the development because we’re allowed to. The picture below is a shot taken at night of a prototype test flight. The light streaks are little explosions that guide the vehicle up into orbit. Check out the youtube clip here.