Cirin can be easily considered the symbol of perfect union between R/C cars and latest manufacturing technology, thus combining the remembrance of childhood with the potential of nowadays high-tech. The R/C dream car is not only designed in a stunning manner (although not necessarily intended by its creators, Cirin does remind of the Batmobile), but it also reaches speeds of up to 30 miles per hour for 500 feet.
Cirin was developed by a team comprising of Max Greenberg, Sameer Yeleswarapu and Ian Cullimore, as a project at the Art Center College of Design. In this manner, their engineering knowledge mingled with an artistic vision upon technology, with the aid of aesthetics and architectural design. The members of the team inapired not only from Formula 1 cars, but also from the bone-structure of birds, mixing speed and accuracy with a slim and lively design: ‘’We drew inspiration from mid-1950’s Formula 1 cars as well as the truss structures found inside the bones of a birds wing. These structure are both light and rigid, ideal properties for the car we wanted to design.’’
According to designer Max Greenberg, the mechanical layout of Cirin was created with the aid of 3D CAD software SolidWorks and once the process finalized, the virtual product was sponsored by advanced 3D printing company, SolidConcepts. As for the physical building of the car, it was printed using a selective laser sintering machine, in a single piece with nylon powder. The core and the power render of the biologically inspired Cirin is a 16-foot long elastic band contained within a carbon fiber tube and as an R/C construct, it can be activated by a power tool.
Designer Greenberg, former engineer and current Cirin designer, shared the view of his team upon their rubber-band powered car as an alternative to the already common visions of engineers: ‘’This allowed us to approach problems using our intuition in a way that yielded holistic solutions, not confined to some box labeled engineering or sculpture.’’