The Polish Triggo - as safe as a car, as agile as a motorcycle

Just like a car, Triggo will have four wheels, a fully enclosed cabin, a steering wheel, air conditioning, seats with backrest, seatbelts and even an airbag. But it also leans while cornering, so the driver feels like on a motorbike. Triggo is also light, narrow, it will fit in the same spaces as a motorcycle.

"The goal of our solution was to provide those of us who have a category B license (...) with the ability to move as nimbly and as effectively as on a two-wheeler, while maintaining the safety and comfort to which we are accustomed in a car" - says Rafał Budweil from Triggo.

This year, the Triggo won the title of the Polish Product of the Future. A research prototype of the device is ready and has been tested at the Warsaw Automotive Industry Institute (PIMOT). Pre-production prototypes will appear on Polish streets in the summer, and the market debut is scheduled for 2019-2020. Work on the project was possible thanks to three grants from the National Centre for Research and Development.

"The key to our design is the chassis geometry change mechanism. For driving at higher speeds of 25-90 km/h, the Triggo deploys the front suspension" - says Rawał Budweil. He adds that this ensures the vehicle`s stability at higher speeds. "However, at speeds below 25 km/h, the Triggo retracts its suspension and in this configuration it is narrower than many motorcycles" - he adds. Thanks to this innovative mechanism, the vehicle does not take up much space on the road - it can neatly squeeze between cars in a traffic jam. And when it`s parked, it occupies one-fifth or one-sixth of the space needed to park a car.

"Triggo will not be available for sale, but everyone will be able to rent it" - says Rafał Budweil. He explains that Triggo is being developed for the "mobility as a service" platforms. Just like you can rent a city bike for a few minutes or a car for a few hours from a car-sharing company, you will also be able to rent a Triggo.

Although Triggo is an electric vehicle, users will not have to worry about plugging it to a charging station, explains Maciej Pełka from Triggo. To charge the battery, users will stop at special stations. The station personnel will replace the battery with a charged one and the user will be able to continue the drive. This should not take longer than a stop at a gas station.

The Triggo uses a drive-by-wire control system known from aviation. This means that the vehicle is in fact controlled by a computer. Budweil believes that once the autonomous steering systems are well developed, Triggo can easily be converted into an autonomous vehicle. "The procedure of adding autonomy to Triggo is actually adding an additional IT system to the existing network" - says Budweil. This would enable Triggo to reach any place in the city at the user`s request.

"Our ambition is for Triggo to become a Polish export hit" - says Budweil.

PAP - Science in Poland

Author: Ludwika Tomala

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