Double Badger go-kart

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electric go-kart, product design, 2022

In 2018, we began the design work for the Badger series electric go-karts. We successively designed models such as Baby Badger, Kid Badger, Mini Badger, and Running Badger, completing iterations for Baby and Kid models. The product line now comprehensively covers users aged 5 and above. By the end of 2021, the industrial design and sales departments jointly visited over 20 go-kart tracks in China, planning the design for a two-seater go-kart, thus completing the final piece of the Badger series puzzle.

早在 2018 年，我们便开始了 Badger 系列电动卡丁车的设计工作。我们先后设计了 Baby Badger、Kid Badger、Mini Badger、Running Badger 等车型，并完成 Baby 和 Kid 车型的迭代，产品线全面覆盖 5 岁以上用户。在 2021 年末，工业设计部门和销售部门联合走访了中国 20 多条卡丁车赛道，策划双人卡丁车的设计，完成 Badger 系列最后一块拼图。

At the project's inception, the design department decisively determined the product architecture featuring dual-wheel side motors. Through thoughtful layout design, the Double Badger ultimately integrated various control technologies, ensuring seamless collaboration between "vehicle-track operation-technical support" and significantly reducing operational labor costs and maintenance costs.

项目伊始，设计部门就率先确定了双轮边电机的产品架构。通过深思熟虑的布局设计，Double Badger 最终融合了多种控制技术，使「车 - 场地运营 - 技术支持」无缝协作，极大降低运营人工成本和维护成本。

The design of the two-seater go-kart provides an opportunity for a shared driving experience. For many, engaging in sports with friends, family, or partners is a social activity, and the two-seater design makes this experience more intuitive and enjoyable. Designing how two drivers can interact safely during the driving process posed a significant challenge for the team.

双人卡丁车设计提供了一种共享驾驶体验的机会。对许多人来说，与朋友、家人或搭档一起参与运动是一种社交活动，双人设计使得这种体验更为直观和有趣。如何让两位驾驶者在驾驶过程中安全的交互对于团队来说是一项重大的设计挑战。

Before the design began, we conducted expert interviews and field surveys, personally experienced driving, and recorded video footage of the driving states of ordinary players, collecting user feedback and requirements. This helped us allocate the workload of drivers reasonably and anticipate the logic of "human-human" and "human-machine" interactions.

在设计开始之前，我们进行了专家访谈和田野调查，亲自驾驶体验并视频记录了普通玩家的驾驶状态，收集用户的反馈和需求。这将帮助我们合理分配驾驶者的工作量，预判「人 - 人」交互和「人 - 机」交互逻辑。

The biggest complaint from players about existing two-seater go-karts is that they cannot reasonably distribute the workload of the two drivers during the driving process, leading to one person being in a passive state while driving. On the other hand, even though two-seater go-karts can provide more power for steering, their large wheelbase still lacks flexibility. Additionally, it is difficult to reverse after a collision.

玩家对现有双人卡丁车最大的抱怨是，它们无法合理分配两位驾驶者在驾驶过程中的工作量，导致一方在驾驶时陷入旁观的状态。另一方面，即使双人卡丁车可以提供更多力量用于转向，但因轴距过大，灵活性依然有所欠缺。并且，在发生碰撞后难以倒车。

Therefore, in the early design stages, we decided to move the commonly placed rear control module in rental electric go-karts to between the two seats, allowing the co-driver to control the gears. This position is at the rear of the vehicle, minimizing the impact on the operations of the track operators.

所以在设计早期，我们决定把租赁电动卡丁车常见的尾部控制模块移动到双人座位之间，这样可以由副驾控制车辆挡位。这个位置在车辆后半部分，对场地运营人员的操作影响较小。

Through statistics, electric go-karts are typically used on indoor tracks, and two-seater go-karts are not the main amusement attraction. To make the wider two-seater go-kart suitable for indoor tracks, we needed to compress the width of the vehicle as much as possible. A smaller wheelbase also makes the vehicle more agile. The adjustable seat makes the Double Badger compatible with individuals ranging from 160cm to 190cm in height.

通过统计，电动卡丁车通常被用于室内赛道，双人卡丁车并不会作为主要游乐项目。为了让比普通卡丁车更宽的双人卡丁车可以适应室内赛道，我们需要尽可能压缩车辆宽度。更小的轴距也可以让车辆更加灵活。可调节的座椅使得 Double Badger 兼容 160cm 到 190cm 人群。

In the end, we stacked the dual battery packs on either side between the seats. The control module could be placed above the batteries. To further narrow the vehicle, we increased the height on both sides of the body, turning the open seats into a "cockpit." As a result, the design focus shifted from the top to the much larger side.

最终，我们把分置在两侧的双电池堆叠在座椅之间。此时电池上方可以放置控制模块。为了进一步压缩车宽，我们加高了车身两侧高度，将开放式座椅变成一个「座舱」。因此，造型设计重点从顶面变为面积更大的侧面。

However, this longitudinally larger design was not suitable for the traditional manufacturing method of "thermoforming" for go-kart exterior parts. We chose to retain the thermoforming process for the chassis and rear to manufacture flatter exterior parts, using the rotational molding process for the side panels, front face, and nose wing. Under the same conditions, the rotational molding process has higher strength than thermoforming and is reasonably priced. It can embed connectors such as screws and nuts, simplifying the entire vehicle assembly process and reducing maintenance costs in the later stages.

但是，这样纵深较大的造型并不适合卡丁车外观件的制造传统制造方式「吸塑」。我们选择在底盘和尾部保留吸塑工艺制造较为扁平的外观件，使用滚塑工艺制造侧箱、前脸和鼻翼。相同条件下滚塑工艺的强度比吸塑更高，且价格适中。它可以预埋螺钉和螺母的等连接件，这让整车装配流程简化，后期维护成本降低。

Records from the product testing phase.

一些产品测试期间的记录👇