Earlier we looked at the ev¹, a beautiful powered wheelchair by Singaporean startup Strutt. We were so taken by the form that we didn’t even wonder where the battery goes, or what it looks like.
Now industrial designer Barney Mason, Strutt’s Chief Designer, shows us and provides some details on the development of the battery–which is turns out, was the starting point of the whole project:
Funnily when designing the ev¹ we started with the battery (testing and certification takes a long time). The form we developed ended up defining our overall design language. It’s soft but also has a dependable and performance-focused feel.
At almost 6kg it needed a solid handle and a conveniently placed charging port. The jerry can form factor felt like appropriate inspiration.
Before really knowing what the ev¹ was, we needed to figure out where the battery should be located.
Choosing LFP cells meant a physically larger battery, but the improved safety and longer lifespan was more important for our idea of an everyday vehicle.
The button and LED’s were eventually removed [from this early iteration] for better waterproofing and reduced complexity.
Charging cable exploration.
Drop tests caused the handle to crack at the corner. We softened the corner radius, modified the internal structure and tweaked the material to improve impact resistance.
First iteration of the battery produced for the ev¹ soft launch.
The charging port is protected by a waterproof cover.
The battery is heavy and low to the ground, the angle is for ease of taking it out.
If you’re not familiar with the ev¹, read about it here.
