Driven to develop a new class of automobile, the Vehicle Design Summit aims to create a 5-person, 1,2 l/100 km, high-performance industry-standard car with minimal life cycle costs and wide appeal both in developed and developing countries. Building off of a 9-week 24/7 design program in summer 2006 (in which four driving prototypes were built from scratch by an all-volunteer team of 55 student engineers), VDS 2.0 is recruiting up to 50 teams of university students to collaboratively develop the 2.0 vehicle (codenamed Vision).
Student-led innovation
It has been suggested that only students can truly innovate in the energy realm: not obligated to any shareholders or limited by any proprietary agreements, students are motivated by a passion for real-world, tangible results developed in concern with other future industry leaders. University teams the world over already work on custom plug-in hybrids, super-mileage vehicles, solar race cars, formula cars and scores of other complex problem-solving endeavours.
VDS proposes to create a meta-team drawing from the same creative drive that inspires such student teams to compete; instead of culminating in a race, however, the end goal of VDS 2.0 is a single production-ready automobile developed in an open, collaborative environment. In tandem with mentors from academia, industry, and government, each participating team will be responsible for a different subsystem. In addition to technical subsystems such as vehicle aerodynamics, crash-worthiness and crumple zones, power train architecture and driving dynamics, other teams will develop the Vision's brand identity, styling, driving profile, consumer acceptability surveys, and marketing strategy - not to mention documentation, program management and the story of VDS itself. More than an engineering exercise, VDS seeks to catalyze energy innovation in a multitude of disciplines and empower the future leaders of global energy initiatives.
A team of visionaries: engineers, journalist, scientists, designers & dreamers!
To do this, VDS is recruiting and training a diverse and enthusiastic team with expertise in a variety of fields. From the beginning, the consortium will place high priority on open communication channels, frequent design reviews, a horizontal management structure, and a commitment to best practice in sustainable design. By repeatedly engaging with questions of infrastructure, government incentive programs for zero carbon emissions, and ways to increase total efficiency over product life cycles, VDS will develop solutions applicable over a range of materials, industries, and geographic regions.
What next? Global design team focused on energy efficiency
In the long term, this expertise will enable the consortium to undertake engineering product development with the goal of radical increase in energy efficiency. After the vehicle project itself, the consortium will be poised to take on problems of all types ranging from other aspects of transportation (e.g., freight services) to issues in construction, agriculture, and materials flows for industry. VDS looks to create a non-profit foundation to manage and direct such endeavours while guiding the overall vision.