M  I  C  H  A  E  L    D  i  T  U  L  L  O

At the nexus of it all.

SAIC worked with Michael DiTullo and Actual, a Portland based design strategy firm, to conceptualize the Nexus, an autonomous 12 person shuttle designed for fixed routes such as university campuses, corporate headquarters and airport loops. We started the program not by sketching hot cars, but instead by focusing on seating position. The EV architecture allows a totally open floor plan. We asked ourselves how should people sit in this driverless bus? The insight came from reflecting on riding in the backseat of cars as a kid. We didn't look out through the front window, or inward toward the interior, we looked to the side and watched the world go by. This lead to a spine based seating positions with all riders looking outward. This unique seating position lead to an exterior design with large side windows and no front or rear windows.

This innovative vehicle architecture lead to a unique and iconic design that is futuristic yet friendly.

Contributions: Design strategy, vehicle architecture, seating position, exterior theme development, interior theme development, exterior initial surface modeling