Nagpur boy Saurabh’s upward swing in US urban mobility

Nagpur: From making graphite sketching on the serene campus of Visvesvaraya National Institute of Technology (VNIT) to designing Los Angeles’ first Transportation Technology Innovation Zone, city’s Saurabh Nimsarkar has come a long way.

Nimsarkar, an ‘Asal Nagpuri’, is making waves as a prominent transportation systems designer and strategist in San Francisco. Working with an autonomous air taxi company, he brings a valuable perspective on global transportation innovation and how India can adapt and adopt.

With a multi-faceted background and robust educational foundation, Nimsarkar’s transition from engineer to designer was by design, not default. A BTech from VNIT Nagpur, an MDes from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, and a second master’s from Art Center College of Design, California, he metamorphosed into a mobility designer. He’s worked on hyperloop, autonomous cars, flying cars, and is currently exploring multiple futures as a researcher for the city of Los Angeles. He’s even collaborated with the Mayor’s office of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, to design LA’s first Transportation Technology Innovation Zone.

From a nanoscale of molecules to the scale of a city, Nimsarkar also has had a career in materials engineering, software development, and furniture design. And as a global expert in new mobility, he has earned accolades, including the Good Design Award and was invited at international events like Sight Tech Global, the 4th World Congress of Psychogeography in the UK, and International Institute of Information Design, Austria.

Asserts Nimsarkar, “With India’s population increasing and job locations diversifying, coupled with growing traffic congestion, there is an urgent need for rapid and efficient transportation. The best cities around the world have top-notch transport systems and seamless transport mechanisms are vital for the growth of cities, like in Japan and Denmark.”

He’s the design brain behind ModLiv, an autonomous home on wheels that gained recognition in the famed design magazine ‘Wallpaper’ of London. ModLiv is designed to adapt to changing lifestyles and the growing trend of remote work while incorporating the latest technological advancements. What makes ModLiv different from traditional RVs is its pioneering autonomy and its modular and minimalist design. ModLiv features a core home module with essential amenities like sleeping quarters, kitchen, bathroom, and more, designed using VR technology. Also, it offers modular, autonomous add-on units, including an office, playroom, meeting room, medical pod, and food truck, ensuring adaptability to changing life stages.

Electric flying taxis and India

Nimsarkar has collaborated with the World Economic Forum on ‘Principles of the Urban Sky’ article, and now he’s working in a company in California that’s making autonomous flying taxis. He thinks these flying taxis will change how we travel because they are fast, safe, can take off and land like a helicopter, and are powered by electricity. Nagpur is on a fast track in transportation and these taxis could travel from the city centre to the outskirts in a matter of minutes.

MORE INNOVATIONS

* Worked on Hyperloop transportation, focusing on research and design, as well as passenger interface design

* Worked with Honda R&D Americas on speculative design strategies for future of electric cars

* Designed transportation experience of shopping in the world of self driving cars and the future of shopping malls

* Designed autonomous pod for self-medical check-ups

* Worked on single-seater flying car quadcopter

* Designed autonomous passenger shuttle for Kia Motors as a sponsored project

SAURABH’S CLAIM TO FAME

* Won Good Design Awards - India Design Mark for 5 products

* ModLiv featured on ‘Wallpaper’ Magazine, Voyage LA Magazine, Bold Journey Magazine, Art Center Gallery, VTV India, Canvas Rebel Magazine and several other magazines

* Finalist UC San Diego Designathon among 200+ participants


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