Photos
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VDS is a community, a think- and do-tank, a global web of interconnected cultures and a geographically diffuse collective ideation machine. The galleries included in this section are here both for the public and those within VDS. The aim is multi-fold: 1. Effectively share the various perspectives, lifestyles, symbols, and experiences that have shaped us, 2. Track VDS output over time visually and share this traction, 3. Recognize the countless individuals, groups, companies, virtual spaces and places that make VDS what it is. If you have images you would like to share with the entire VDS community, please send them in. If you are a VDS observer and would like to see a visual representation of a certain aspect of the consortium, vehicle or collaboration structure, please send us a comment. We greatly appreciate your feedback and insight. Sponsor VDS at the $150 level or above, and receive any image as a 11" x 17" signed poster. Just forward us your donation confirmation along with the name of the person you would like the poster made out to. |
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Wind Tunnel Testing at Ford's Tunnel in Detroit, May 2010 (236)
Three days for 24 total hours of testing in the Jacobs Wind Tunnel 8 at Ford's facility in Allen Park, MI. Succeeded in bring the CD down from our starting point of 0.33 (in our planned baseline configuration) to 0.31 (for our CFD-optimized configuration) to 0.24 (for our wind tunnel optimized configuration). We are still working to get the CD down to 0.21 but for now are thrilled with the progress and extremely grateful to Ford for their support, as well as everyone from Jacobs who helped us. -
Building the Test Body at Morris Yachts, May 2010 (165)
The morning after receiving our molds (graciously sponsored and tooled by Marine Concepts), the team headed up to Maine to Morris Yachts to build our first test ArchiMITes body. Morris has developed a high level of expertise in infusion parts, so we set the goal of putting together a skin we could use in a wind tunnel as well having the chance to learn how to do infusion for the final body. After 16 hours of work and some brilliant insights on the part of Morris' incredible craftsmen, we had our parts! These images depict the process of prepping the molds, laying up the parts, pulling them out and having a bit of fun along the way. -
Last Week in Delhi, August 2009 (43)
During our final week in India, we moved to Delhi to participate in the ACMA Golden Jubilee Conference. Along with Prof. Fine from MIT, we were able to present before a large number of automotive component suppliers and OEMs. -
Work in Pune, Summer 2009 (105)
VDS had three goals going into India, one of which was to better understand the automotive supply chain in the developing world and ideally find a way to manufacture a stamped composite. We worked primarily with the Ganage company, among others. -
Mumbai, Summer 2009 (49)
Pune is a two hour train trip from Mumbai and we spent a number of days going back and forth to the city for meetings. -
Weekend Expeditions in Pune, India, Summer 2009 (205)
During the summer of 2009, 15 team members spent the summer in India. Of these, 8 stationed themselves in Pune, a hotbed for automotive suppliers as well as research institutions. While we did plenty of work, we also took time on the weekends and evenings to get a sense of our context. -
VDS India Prep Week, June 2009 (62)
In anticipation of a summer spent in India, the team met at MIT for a week to prep. MISTI India offered the team a series of acclimation training events, team members presented their work plans and everyone got to know one another. We also celebrated a birthday and presented to a prospective partner in New York City. -
Torino, Italy build event, Summer 2008 (223)
During the summer of 2008, more than 40 team members from all around the world came together to test whether the components they had designed would fit together into a vehicle, our VDS Vision 100. -
Torino Lifecycle Event, January 2008 (148)
During the first month of 2008, a subset of VDS teams met at Politecnico di Milano to work on systems engineering and lifecycle design. -
VDS China Design Review and Recruiting Trip, December 2007 (263)
Due to travel restrictions, VDS held a design review just for teams in China at the end of 2007. SCUT hosted the event on their beautiful campus and team members from Tsinghua, Hunan, Tongji and other universities attended. -
Critical Design Review at GroepT in Belgium, November 2007 (54)
Our first critical design review after the first summer of work during 2006 organized with the aim of getting all of our international teams together. GroepT hosted the event and did a brilliant job. -
VDS India Design Review in Delhi, October 2007 (77)
The first design review after the kick-off event in January for VDS 2.0 took place in Delhi, India. Hosted by the Delhi College of Engineering, team members from Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, the US and elsewhere met for seven days to get a sense of India as our target launch location and also meet one another to ensure everyone had started off on the right foot. -
MIT Solar Car Team, 2005-2006 (61)
A majority of VDS participants during the summer of 2006 came from solar car teams, including the MIT solar car team. In 2005, the MIT solar electric vehicle team contested the world solar challenge in Australia and American Sunrace. -
The Land Institute, 2005 (33)
The Land Institute is the United State's preeminent research center for polyculture agriculture.

