Volvo Construction Equipment & LEGO Technic Team CLICK!
Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) and LEGO Technic construction toys have joined creative forces with a team of children to design a futuristic, autonomous construction machine.
The result: The LEGO Technic Volvo Concept Wheel Loader ZEUX set, scheduled for release in toy stores next month, and the digital prototype for a real-world autonomous machine.
What started out as a fun, informal team building event to inspire The Volvo CE and LEGO Technic design teams in 2016, gradually evolved into an idea for an actual LEGO Technic product. Their goal: Design the construction machines of the future. And now the collaboration has led to number of potentially revolutionary patents.
A focus group consisting of children helped out in the process creating the ZEUX. Looking at early drawings and models, the group gave feedback that led to the development of new, unique features. Two main features that the group decided on were the scout drone and the adjustable “camera” boom mounted on the roof of the vehicle, called the Eye. In addition to the scout drones and built-in sensors a real-life model would have, the Eye illustrates a new and inventive feature: it will show exactly where the vehicle’s “attention” is directed, which means it can make “eye contact” with humans and acknowledge their presence.
Workshops in Billund, Denmark, video meetings, and exchanges of concept sketches and sketch models allowed room to test wild ideas throughout the development process. As a result, one can see a lot of very interesting features like an extendable counterweight, raising and lowering chassis, 4-wheel steering and many other great ideas that fits all design values.
Visit https://youtu.be/P78Qguwoo-Q to view Volvo CE’s animated video.