Shape of things to comeEjector-seat ambulance design
U.K. design students produce a novel concept: an ambulance with ejector seats; when paramedics arrive on the scene of the disaster, they and their equipment are “hurled” toward the victims to ensure faster treatment
Here is something you may not have thought about: an ambulance equipped with an ejector seat. The Pioneers 09 expo now taking place in London has such a concept model is on display. The model is part of the ”smart pods project,” a joint venture between the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC, and hosts of Pioneers 09) and, the Royal College of Art (RCA). Smart Pods is designed to use improved ambulance and paramedic tech gear to shift more care out of hospitals and into the community, reducing the number of patients who need to be brought back to A&E departments.
The ejector-seat ambulance comes from the RCA side of the collaboration. Initial findings from the Smart Pods studies were presented to the master’s degree RCA students in vehicle design, and they produced “a range of original and innovative design solutions… a direct response to the Smart Pods data… [they] provide an insight into what urgent and emergency vehicles of the future might look like.”
The most original of the concepts produced by the art students was the “Autocare,” brainchild of RCA masters’ candidate Augustin Barbot. According to Barbot:
Speed is of the essence in the ambulance service. The Autocare Concept aims to get the pre-hospital clinician on-scene and ready to treat the patient as soon as possible.
The design includes an ejector-type driving seat for a single clinician. The seat is activated once the vehicle is on-scene and projects the driver outside the vehicle. The seat is equipped with all the treatment packages required for the patient and deploys as a backpack with the clinician.
Other concepts the art students came up with in direct response to the study data included an ambulance with a “revolutionary interior, which morphs into shape” and various more ordinary notions in which response vehicles would deploy tents, extending body shells and other camper-van type structures to create temporary on-street clinics.
Dave Whiting of the East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust says the Smart Pods project has been “grounded in reality.” Samantha Forrest, head of research in the NHS purchasing bureau, says that “the NHS is required, not only to demonstrate value from all its processes, but to provide a robust evidence base for its decision making… Smart Pods has recognized the importance of procurement from the outset… The findings will be important.”
Sir Christopher Frayling, rector of the RCA, says that the art college is required by its charter to use its art and design talent to aid social development. “At last we are honoring that commitment,” he writes, referring to the RCA contribution to Smart Pods. Rob Thompson of the RCA backpedaled a bit on the paramedic-hurling ambulance as part of such lofty goals. “It’s blue sky,” he told the Register. “You’ve got to have a bit of fun, haven’t you?”
