Skip to main content
prototypes

The concept

The idea was to design an extraction vehicle for wounded soldiers caught in an active combat zone. The result is the Mark V - Kaki concept that could be used by the Red Cross, the United Nations, or by the medic divisions of the armed forces. These vehicles aim to increase the chances of survival of injured soldiers and civilians in combat zones and limit the casualties of war.

Charles Bombardier

The background

In battle, a wounded soldier’s greatest chance of survival is if care is administered within the first hour of injury. This period of time is regularly referred to as the Golden Hour. Designer Xavier Gordillo and I tried to imagine a concept vehicle that would improve the chances of a wounded soldier’s survival by reducing extraction time in hot zones. We tried to imagine an autonomous vehicle capable of performing this duty on urban terrain while under moderate gunfire. The result was a combination of two vehicles: The Mark V and Kaki working as a team to quickly remove wounded people from harm’s way.

Charles Bombardier

How it works

The Mark V is an armored vehicle than can self-drive in any conditions, but it can also be piloted. It would be able to withstand medium-caliber bullets. The Mark V would be rapidly deployed in hot zones and would act quickly to reduce exposure to heavier fire like tanks and heavy artillery that could be deployed to take it out. Within the Mark V, a robotic stretcher called the Kaki would be used to extract wounded soldiers and civilians from the crossfire and return them to safety within the Mark V.

Charles Bombardier

The Mark V would drive itself to hot zones, stop near the wounded soldier, and open its main hatch to release the Kaki robotic mobile stretcher. The Kaki is designed to be quick and nimble, so it won’t waste time carefully positioning itself over the injured party and containing them within its armored shell. The Kaki would return to the Mark V for evacuation.

The Mark V would also be equipped with two robotic arms attached to its exterior. (The armored plates protecting those arms are intentionally not displayed.) These arms could be used to place soldiers within the Mark V and pick up or move objects, and they could be operated remotely by ground troops.

Charles Bombardier

The Kaki is designed to evacuate wounded people without causing greater harm. This means it would be able to keep the spine straight using specially designed claws and remove patients quickly and precisely. The Kaki would thus be more agile and faster than the armoured Mark V.

Charles Bombardier

What it’s used for

The Mark V - Kaki vehicles could work in teams of 3. They would use smoke screens to conceal their locations and sensors on the vehicles to navigate. If one of the Mark V or Kaki was damaged, there would still be two more teams available.

Charles Bombardier

The designer

I would like to thank Éric Gadbois who provided advice about exiting armored vehicles having served for the Canadian Armed Forces for a United Nations peacekeeping mission. And especially Xavier Gordillo, who created the images of the Mark V and Kaki concept and came up with most of the design ideas. Gordillo lives near Trebic, Czech Republic. He studied Car Design at the Europe Design Institute (IED) and works as a Freelance Industrial Designer. He also created the images for the Upex, and the Motorail concepts.

Like us on Facebook

Follow us on Instagram

Add us to your circles

Sign up for our weekly newsletter.