The project identifies how primary school children commute to school in rural India, Various vehicles used to carry primary school children in Indian cities are studied in detail and a case study of school children in Tamil Nadu was done. It was found that the current transportation for children in rural areas is unsafe, uncomfortable, and not user-centric. Insights derived from the research revealed a need for a safe, interactive, comfortable, compact, and efficient vehicle to carry ten primary school children. Ideation started with thumbnail sketches and line drawings followed by CAD. Various ways to make the school journey safe, economical, comfortable, and fun were brainstormed and a morphological chart was prepared. The finalized layout was a more dynamic, and user-focused interiors with ergonomic seats for children. The vehicle is powered by an electric drivetrain with the help of a skateboard chassis. The design went through multiple iterations in CAD resulting in the final concept. The final concept proposes interactive interiors for children to make the commute more fun. Adequate protection, provision for backpack storage, low floor height for easy ingress-egress, rounded form, and lightweight are some of the features of this vehicle to carry primary school children.


Submitted by: Santhanakrishanan Durairaj, MDes (2020-22), IIT Bombay
Guided by: Prof. Sugandh Malhotra