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Year

Tools

Designer



2025

Research, prototype, 3D printing, laser cutting

Han Lee, Raveena  Deshpande
Breathing Car


As part of the Hyundai Regeneration Studio, this project explores biomimicry in collaboration with the Hyundai and KIA design teams. Inspired by Stomata, we developed a 'breathing' car exterior that passively regulates heat, reducing interior temperatures through responsive surface design.





Problem
When a car is parked under direct sunlight, its external surfaces trap heat within the car cabin due to the car’s enclosed design. According to research, the car’s roof and hood receive the most incident sunlight and become agents of heat conduction to the cars interior.









Biomimicry Research

to understand nature’s cooling system, our group studied how the stomata cools itself. 
We also studied the motion of opening by sketching multiple to design the mechanism 





Edited by ScuTech Daily, YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEF5KgaDdfs. Accessed 08 Apr. 2025.









  Ideation
With the research of Stomata, we tried to design mechanism and the membrane that can mimic the stomata, but also can work on the car. 





"How might we reimagine this concept to design a breathing car?"







1. For the membrane, we tested different materials like:

PVDF, Tyvek, and Metal to find which performs the best for heat loss. Through the experiment, we learned that TYVEK is best best-suited material for our mechanism.2. To replicate the opening and closing motion of stomata, we explored various pattern-cutting:  

Techniques, including hand cutting, folding, and laser cutting, to study how different methods. affect movement.




Surface Mechanism & Application
We simulated different patterns on the program and laser cut silicone that fits the best with the stomatas mechanism.

Showing the full extent of the opening and closing capability of our pattern

We used an Arduino to simulate the car's self-initiated movement for opening and closing






Design Application example

To pitch our research, we created a design application by presenting an exploded view and a physical car model. The layered visualization includes the car frame, Tyvek, and our patterned membrane. We also designed and 3D printed a car model to demonstrate how the membrane would look when applied, providing a clear visual of its integration into the vehicle.






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