Flying Police Patrol Cars in 2025

There is a bright future for police patrol cars in 2025. The criteria needed to fit for a police patrol car in the year 2025 is advanced technology; speed and agility; creativity of the solution; meeting a specific regions emission standards and environmental stability including maintenance and recyclability. BMW has come up with a car that fits all of the criteria above. The cherry on top of the cake is that it also flies. BMW has looked into the future and added complexity for a vehicle fit for law enforcement. “DesignworksUSA`s role as a think tank is to challenge the status quo of existing product solutions. We wanted to present a visionary impulse to the theme of highway patrol. Hence our contribution to the L.A. Design Challenge is a vision concept with no links to BMW´s future design strategy. We took the liberty to think out of the box. To emphasize the conceptual approach our design is independent from BMW design elements and known visual cues but looks at new product typologies and fresh ideas on shapes” (Schaffer, 2012).

“The BMW Group Designworks USA was aware that there would be more traffic, faster vehicles, and vehicles with alternative drive trains in 2025. The design team explored how a patrol team functioned today and in the future and determined that teamwork and accessibility were the two key elements for a successful patrol effort” (Schaffer, 2012). “For teamwork the design team was inspired by the partnership between a patrol officer and their canine” (Schaffer, 2012). “The clogged highways today and in the future inspired the design team to focus on a solution to increase accessibility” (Schaffer, 2012).

The design of the ePatrol Vision centers on a modular structure and drone technology that enhanced both teamwork and accessibility. The main structure can deploy three drones. The top drone sits above the main structure and is a flying drone, while the other two are one wheel vehicles attached to the rear. In the case of a pursuit during heavy traffic areas, the patrol officer sitting in the two passenger main structure can deploy either the flying drone or one of the single wheel drones to chase the suspect and report back data to the main structure. When all drones are deployed, the main structure can continue to function. All drones have added protection benefits in that they can send an impulse to another vehicle and disable it. “Throughout the exterior design, the team strived to create a powerful stance with an aerodynamic aesthetic and flowing lines” (Schaffer, 2012).

The interior design was inspired by a woven structure made of aluminum wire inside carbon fiber and polymer resin. The seats for a significant connection between driver and architecture. For greater protection to the patrol officers, windows are not included in the vehicle. The windshield is replaced with a large screen that on the exterior can communicate critical information such as accidents or route information to other drivers. “On the interior, the large screen acts as a monitor on which data from the drones can be displayed” (Schaffer, 2012).

As you can see, the traditional police patrol car will be fully changed. No more windows, the interior will be different, the seating inside the car will be changed. There will be a huge monitor that people will be able to read from, as well. All of this is coming from technology. From my point of view, it’s so cool to see how much technology can do and what the opportunities are. Cars won’t look the same at all. The best part of it is that these changes will create better protection for drivers.

There are some images of what the future car will look like. You can see the inside dashboard and how the police will be able to track peoples license plates and etc.