- Michael McDaniel
- Designer / Inventor / Dreamer
I am obessed with creating meaningful design in order to make this world a better place for all. At Reaction we create innovative products to do just that. Our Exo housing system is a rapid response, reusable housing solution that is deployable in just minutes.
It is designed to be stored for long durations, ready for deployment instantly, and each can be setup in two minutes or less. Reaction's transportation is more efficient than any other rigid housing system available today. So, drop me a line and let's save the world together.
See what I am actually doing to help with Reaction.
See me in action on the TED stage and at PSFK.
See what I am saying on Twitter.
Upcoming Events:
Facilitator, PopTech's The City Resilient Summit
Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York City on June 24 - 25th, 2013
Press & Media:
Article, The Atlantic
"The Golden Age of Gondolas Might Be Just Around the Corner"
Laugh all you want (or cower in fear), but cable-drawn aerial transportation just might be the next big thing.
Press Release, Roundrock Texas
"City Council hosts presentation Thursday on innovative transit concept"
Frog Design's Michael McDaniel to present idea for gondolas to move people in urban areas. The idea to use gondolas as a transit alternative is a idea by Michael McDaniel and Frog Design in Austin.
Article, culturemap Austin
"Round Rock considers 'ski lift-style' transport with the help of Austin's Frog Design Studio"
[ With video from KVUE ]The City of Round Rock is looking at an innovative way to relieve traffic congestion, by moving it from the street - to the air. Frog design studio in Austin will create the plan.
Article, Austin Business Journal
"OK Austin, how serious are we about gondolas?"
A local design firm's vision of a system of gondolas spanning Austin's skyscrapers has proved that it has staying power, even if the idea hasn't gotten much attention from the city's leading transportation planners.
Article, The Digital Texan
"Publicly-funded gondola a viable transportation alternative for Round Rock, Texas?"
When one of the most innovative cities in America takes its first crack at mass transit you can bet it won’t be buses, trains or streetcars. No, Round Rock, Texas, elevation 709 feet, is thinking about a gondola system, like those crawling up and down the ski slopes of the world.
Article, PSFK
Article, Austin-American Statesman
"Gondolas in Round Rock? City Council members say they love the idea."
Will airborne gondolas one day ply the skies of Round Rock, shuttling passengers on a transit-system-of-the-future?
Article, PSFK
"My 2013 Predication: Mother Nature as the Ultimate Innovator"
In 2013, I believe Mother Nature will prove to be a major source for disruption across a variety of industries, particularly telecommunication. I do not mean that in an apocalyptic sense at all, but more as a catalyst for innovation.
Radio Interview, NPR Marketplace
"New public transport idea for Austin, Texas has high hopes"
[ With audio from NPR ]There's an idea floating around Austin, Texas. Instead of expanding the city's light rail system to get commuters around, why not reach for the sky -- literally -- and install a network of gondolas? While the idea seems far-fetched or futuristic to some, McDaniel points to a slew of other cities that have adapted the ski-lift technology.
Article, NBC News
"Skip the Subway, Take a Ski Lift to Work Instead"
The future of mass transit will come with sweeping views, private cars, and schedule-free travel if a proposed gondola-based system takes off from sketchpads at a design firm, which stands a shot at occurring in fast-growing Texas.
Article, Clean Technica
"Gondolas As Next Generation Of Mass Transit In Big Cities?"
A mass transit system composed of hanging gondolas moving throughout the city sky? It may sound a bit unlikely, but it would be a surprisingly cheap solution when compared to other options, such as subways.
PSFK Conference SF
"How to Get Around in the City of the Future"
Michael McDaniel believes that in order to adapt urban transportation infrastructure to the changing needs of the 21st century, we must take a radically new approach. At PSFK CONFERENCE SAN FRANCISCO, he introduced a proposal developed at frog.
Article, The Atlantic
"Forget Subways. Austin Needs Mass Transit Gondolas"
Frog Design's mass-transit proposal for Austin makes airborne gondolas look like the most obvious and economical solution we have never thought of. Conceived as an enclosed ski lift large enough for bikes, the "Wire" as it is known, would create shortcuts for pedestrians and cyclists by floating them above motorists.
Article, Austin Business Journal
"Gondolas Could Be the Next Great Urban Transportation Device"
What if Austinites rode gondolas to work? Admittedly, the question sounds a little far fetched, said Frog Design Inc.'s Michael McDaniel. But it, and other questions like it, should be explored as Austin develops a comprehensive transit system to carry the city into coming decades.
Article, Earth Techling
"Mass Transit Via Aerial Tram For Austin?"
Close your eyes and think back to when you were a kid. How did you imagine the City of the Future? Were there jet-packs and freeze-dried food? A bubble protecting a thriving Martian metropolis?
Article, Wired.com
"Gondolas Could Be the Next Great Urban Transportation Device"
A team of industrial designers were hard at work on plans for a series of aerial gondolas to connect the city. It may sound futuristic, but it isn't as far-fetched as you might imagine.
Article, Fast Company
"A Mass-Transit Proposal To Connect A City Using Aerial Gondolas"
frog Prinicpal Designer Michael McDaniel talks to CO.DESIGN about his idea to connect Austin with a network of gondalas.
Article, Wired.com
"Stackable 'reaction housing' is architecture for emergencies"
Miniature houses that can be carried on a cargo ship could provide shelter in disaster situations. The Reaction Housing System consists of a series of tiny units known as "Exos", which can house four people each.
PSFK talk, PSFK conference
"Michael McDaniel: Rethinking Solutions For The City"
[ Video ]Michael McDaniel believes that in order to adapt urban transportation infrastructure to the changing needs of the 21st century, we must take a radically new approach. At PSFK CONFERENCE SAN FRANCISCO, he introduced a proposal developed at frog to update existing urban transportation networks with a system of gondolas that could inexpensively and efficiently replace our current model of public transport.
Interview, PSFK
"Designing a Scalable Mass Transit Soltuion for 21st Century Cities"
PSFK is excited to welcome Michael McDaniel as a speaker at PSFK CONFERENCE SAN FRANCISCO. Michael is a Principal Designer at frog a company working to design, engineer, and bring to market meaningful products and services.
Interview, CBS smartplanet
"Q&A: A portable, secure solution for emergency housing"
In 2005, Michael McDaniel watched in helpless horror as Hurricane Katrina forced thousands of people out of their homes and into crowded, under-equipped disaster shelters. He knew there had to be a better solution.
Featured, Gizmag
"Reaction system promises versatile, cost effective emergency housing"
In a world where millions of people are forced from their houses every year because of natural disasters, there is an ongoing need for huge numbers of decent mid- to long-term temporary housing units that can be swiftly delivered to the affected area. The Reaction Housing System has been developed to make the wait as short as possible.
Featured, Plastolux
"Reaction Housing System"
Michael McDaniel, the mind behind the Reaction Housing System recently contacted me for a sneak peek of his first full scale and functional rapid response emergency housing systems named The Exo. At first glance these slick futuristic pods reminded me of a forward thinking cabin or tent or some type of cool small structure.
Video Interview, GOOD magazine
"GOOD LOOK: Reaction Housing"
[ With video from GOOD magazine ]In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, it became obvious that America was frustratingly ill-prepared to house people displaced by a natural disaster. Michael McDaniel took this as a design challenge.
Speaker Profile, TED
"...a graphic designer using his skills to help people in meaningful ways."
Prompted by the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the city of New Orleans, McDaniel began working in his spare time for five years straight on what would become the Exo Reaction Housing System – portable, cheap disaster relief shelters. He is a principal designer at frog and the founder and C.E.O. at Reaction Systems, Inc.
TEDx talk, TEDxAustin
"Michael McDaniel - Reaction Emergency Housing System"
[ With video from TED.com ]Designer Michael McDaniel reshapes disaster relief around the humans most personally affected by tragedy. Obsessed with finding housing solutions that offer more dignity and providing smarter preparation, his Exo Reaction Housing Solution has taken on the global challenge of preventing natural disasters from becoming humanitarian disasters, too.
TEDx talk, TEDxNOLA
"TEDxNOLA - Michael McDaniel"
[ With video from TEDx ]His heart is truly in using meaningful design to help people in their daily lives. This goal is apparent from his development of various systems to help weakened patients around hospitals to housing systems designed to aid communities in rebuilding their lives following major disasters.
design mind article, frog
"Technology and the Rebuilding of Haiti"
A short article about a SXSW panel that spelled out how mobile technology has the potential to be an enormous help in disaster zones around the world.