Toyota Lunar Lift

How would a forklift on the moon be different than one on earth?

Well... it might look like this:

A lightweight lift that collapses in on itself, has omnidirectional maneuverability and is remote operated. This was part of a school project for the Autodesk/ Toyota Logistics Forklift Competition and I am a student at Diablo Valley College.

For this project I used Sketchbook, Adobe Illustrator and Autodesk Fusion 360.

My first step was to do research on things both related to forklifts and lunar missions. I collected journals, articles and essays that described how vehicles and mechanisms worked in space and on the moon. I also looked at Toyota forklifts, their competition and conceptual forklift Ideas. I then interviewed a NASA Engineer on what problems might a current lift have on the moon. There were four main takeaways that I ran with: Collapsibility, Weight, Compactness and Remote operation. I focused on three: Collapsibility, Weight, and Compactness.

I compiled a collage of images of traits that a forklift might need on the moon and started to ideate in sketchbook some things that came to mind. I spoke with a physics grad who reigned in any ideas that wouldn't work and that helped me narrow down a few designs to a more succinct vision. With some guidance from faculty I narrowed my design down and this is what came of it.

Thank you for your time!

My name is Yusef Haroun, I am a student at Diablo Valley College and this is the Toyota Lunar Lift, a project using Autodesk Fusion 360.