This futuristic airport-escalator can perform your security check as you stand on it

We’ve all gone through that arduous, annoying process of passing through security check at the airport. It’s honestly a race against the clock, and against cluelessness. Do you take your belt off? Shoes? Okay, how do I time it perfectly so my suitcase gets scanned at the same time I get my body-scan done? Is that man trying to pick up my bag? The process, as streamlined as airports have tried to make it, is stressful, and the longer the line, the more the impatience. Charles Bombardier and Ashish Thulkar, however, believe they may have an answer to this problem.

Meet the Aerochk. It’s practically a security-checking kiosk and an escalator rolled into one. Getting yourself checked is simple. The escalator has two conveyor belts on each side. One for your passport, another for your bags. Keep your stuff ready and board the escalator. Your passport and luggage travels alongside you, and right at the end, you (and your stuff) pass through a security-booth that performs a scan on you. Multiple sensors scan your weight, your body, and your face to offset the manual scanning process done by humans. Simultaneously, the passport conveyor does a scan of your passport to match your details with you as a person, while also performing a background check to make sure your document is valid, and that you’re eligible for travel. The luggage conveyor also simultaneously scans your bags for any prohibited items, using a wide variety of sensors and cameras, spanning X-Ray, thermal imaging, spetrometric scanning, and even electronic noses like the Cumulus sensor. All these sensors tag your luggage as well as your passport to you as the individual, streamlining the entire process so that you don’t have to wait in line, moving inch by inch. Just stand on the Aerochk and it guides you through the entire security check procedure without you having to move a muscle. Once you’re out, you’re free to collect your luggage, validated passport, and your flight ticket. Easy peasy!

Designers: Charles Bombardier & Ashish Thulkar (Imaginactive)

The Ascent Pod literally takes skydiving to the next level!

The year was 2012 and Felix Baumgartner was all ready to make history. He climbed into the Red Bull Stratos, a helium balloon that would carry him to a dizzying altitude of 39 kilometers, before he made a leap of faith, plummeting to earth in what would be the world’s highest sky-dive. Baumgartner’s entire journey to land lasted approximately ten whole minutes, in which he managed to break the sound barrier, setting a world record. Baumgartner’s entire jump was live-streamed on the internet, giving the world a taste of high-altitude skydiving… and that inspired Charles Bombardier and Ashish Thulkar to start imagining what the sport would look like if it ever took shape.

Behold the Ascent, a portable rocket pod designed as an entry level experience for potential space tourists and skydivers. “The base of the rocket pod houses turbine jets which provide extremely high power to weight ratio and allow the appropriate thrust required to propel the Ascent over 150 km/h up to altitudes of 15 000 feet”, says Bombardier, the man behind the idea of the Ascent. The Ascent’s fuselage comes with large glass windows, providing a stellar view of your surroundings as you ascend into the sky. Once the Ascent reaches maximum climb, it begins making its way down to earth. Riders can either skydive at 12000 feet, or ride the rocket pod back to earth, in what would be perhaps one of the most thrilling high-altitude experiences ever made for the public!

The Ascent is designed to be extremely lightweight when un-fueled, making it easy to transport on a trailer to the site of take-off. Designed to democratize stratospheric flight, the Ascent goes to the same altitude as a plane does, but makes the journey much more awe-striking in remarkable 360° visibility!

Designer: Ashish Thulkar and Charles Bombardier for Imaginactive

The Transformer of Tractors

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Trakthor is a transforming tractor concept that’s all about changing scale. Utilizing the latest in electric motors and materials, it can disassemble itself into smaller, more maneuverable units, and then reassemble itself into a bigger unit capable of pulling heavier things… all without any help from humans!

The chassis is designed to allow each wheel unlatch and roll around obstacles independently. These autonomous units allow the Trakthor to traverse varying terrains and complete separate tasks. In this mode, gyroscopic motors are activated to maintain balance.

In mode #2, Trakthor can split in two vehicles, similar in shape to a motorcycle. Slightly less maneuverable than individual units, but double the power! As technology progresses, a wide range of attachments and features for various farming activities would be made available. For example, a subsystem dedicated to tree removal or others for plowing and sowing seeds.

Designer: Ashish Thulkar & Charles Bombardier

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