Our DETAILED TIMELINE provides an in-depth overview of the events and milestones that to date have shaped the project as well as a short collection of upcoming events. The aim of this section is to trace both lessons learned and organizational growth as an ongoing learning process.
2010
Body Build | June 20-July 4th, 2010 | Bar Harbor, ME
Morris Yachts hosted the team for 2.5 weeks over the summer to build our first carbon composite monobody. Using a similar infusion process as the company uses for their high-end yachts we were able to complete the body in just a few days. Morris let us build familiarity with the process by making a small boat. Thank you to Marine Concepts for the excellent molds!
CDIO Cup | June 15-17th, 2010 | Deerborn, MI
VDS competed with many other teams for the CDIO cup in Montreal during the CDIO conference. We had the chance to sit in the Torino car and meet up with our team in Montreal as well as spend some time cruising around the city.
Wind Tunnel Testing | May 24-26th, 2010 | Deerborn, MI
Ford offered VDS three days of assisted time in their wind tunnel to refine the body concept. Each day the team ran through a different series of tests, some 34 in total. Our primary goals for the testing period were to refine our internal airflow concepts and thermal management solution and also quantify the value of using front and rear fairings. We identified four major changes to the body thanks to strands of yarn, clay, tape and a whole host of other materials. Our Cd fell from 0.33 to 0.24 by the last test. Photos are available in the gallery.
CGI U Presentation | April 16, 2010 | Clinton Global Initiative University
VDS founder presented on opening plenary panel moderated by President Clinton. Some 1,200 students as well as numerous university and NGO leadership also participated.
Connoisseuship and the Collectible Car | March 7-10th | Revs Institute
VDS founder joined small group from MIT participating in the Revs Institute event in Naples, Florida. During the event had the chance to interact with both some of the most knowledgeable automotive historians and collectors as well as some of the finest vehicles ever made.
Morphing Sunrise to ArchiMITes | February 21, 2010 | Exa Corporation / MIT
Using Exa's powerClay tool and working with one of their engineers, the team succeeded in morphing the composite structural details from the Solectria Sunrise to the original ArchiMITes exterior packaging.
Aerodynamic Analysis Round 1 for ArchiMITes | Jan. 15, 2010 | Exa Corporation / MIT
Using Exa's powerFLOW tool, the team succeeded in analyzing the original ArchiMITes shape that came out of the initial design charrette.
Aero Sponsor Recruitment | Nov. 23, 2010 | Exa Corporation
Jeff Mehkler led a small group to meet with engineers at Exa Corporation about working with VDS to tune the aerodynamic performance of ArchiMITes. Our team learned about the tools exa uses, including PowerClay, PowerTHERM and PowerFLOW. The company has a much broader spectrum of services than we had previously understood. They showed us a nice color wheel of how their work fits into automotive design, part of which is now shown below.
ArchiMITes Development Charrette | Nov. 6-8th, 2010 | N51-137A
Adrian Chernoff returned to VDS to help us define the design direction for the ArchiMITes vehicle. On the first day the design team lead David Diaz presented his group's work to that point followed by and evening of sketching. On the second day after a trip to Home Depot and Pearl, the team build four body doubles (representing 95th and 75th percentile males), placer components for all powertrain elements and eventually a fairly comprehensive engineering package. At the end of the evening, the team had defined the vehicle's major design lines for the exterior as well as ergonomics package for the interior.
2009
Supercar: Building the Car of the Future | July 23, 2009 | Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
A documentary on various groups and organization building energy efficient cars, including VDS.
The Road To Building Greener Cars | January 30, 2009 | National Public Radio
VDS founder amongst guests discussing outside-the-box ideas for improving automobile fuel efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions quickly.
2008
The Amazing Race | April 1, 2008 | Fast Company
A report on crowd-sourced transporation projects, including VDS.
2007
The People We Have Been Waiting For | December 2, 2007 | New York Times
Thomas Friedman covers organizations and student groups that are tackling the issue of global warming, including VDS.
Energy Bill Seeks More Miles for Every Gallon | December 7, 2007 | National Public Radio
VDS founder amongst guests discussing research that seeks to improve the fuel efficiency of cars and trucks.
First Critical Design Review | November 16-18th, 2007 | GroepT, Leuven, Belgium
This third Vehicle Design Summit design review (following on vision and concept reviews), the Critical Design Review (CDR) was hosted by the VDS GROUP T Team in the city of Leuven, which is located 25 kilometres from Brussels. Representatives from a majority of the VDS teams participated, including a new faculty from United Arab Emirates University, and each team provided a status report both on their organization and technical progress. In addition, we collectively set the ten performance requirements for the VDS Vision vehicle. Video from the event can be accessed by clicking the link above and photographs from the event are available in the gallery section.
2006
Vehicle Design Summit @ MIT | November, 28, 2006 | Discovery
Interactive website and documentary about VDS 1.0: the project, the teams, the people.
Backstory: Breaking the gas ceiling | August 13, 2006 | USA Today, The Christian Science Monitor
VDS 1.0 student teams' work to build four 300mpg vehicles as the summer project nears completion.
Cars that keep going . . . and going | July 16, 2006 | The Boston Globe
VDS 1.0 student teams quest for efficiency as the summer project moves from the design phase into the build phase.
