Mission Concept Review
Background
In 2016, the City of Columbus won $50M in grant money for the best description of a “Smart City.” One of the areas chosen for construction was the residential area of Linden. This area has an estimated population of 30,000 and currently has very little access to from many basic services and centers of employment including healthcare, grocery stores, and banking.
Main Objective
The company was faced with the task of developing an Advanced Energy Vehicle (AEV) to transport people from Linden to Easton and to Polaris. The AEV must be autonomous, electric-powered and travel via a monorail system. Each group is to submit deliverables to the Smart City Columbus Grant Staff in order to decide who has the winning design.
Constraints
The constraints provided for the AEV project was that it had to be fully operational on a monorail track, with both forward and backwards directions, along with fulfilling 3 performance tests. The vehicle had to begin at the starting dock, then drive to the gate in the required space, where it would then wait for the gate to open. After the gate opens, the vehicle needed to drive to the loading zone, where it would connect with the load via a magnetic hitch and then head back towards the gate. After getting through the gate a second time the vehicle needed to drive to the starting dock and stop within a given space.
Sales Pitch
Have your ever wanted to be transported from Linden to Easton/Polaris via an autonomous, electric-powered vehicle that is suspended from a monorail system? Look no further, the final Advanced Energy Vehicle design Ol’ Reliable constructed by Bevis Devise’s Group D is rated amongst the most elite in regards to speed, safety, and energy efficiency. For a reasonable price of ~$593,500, Ol’ Reliable can transport citizens in approximately 49 seconds while only using roughly 390 J per run. Throughout all of Team D’s test runs, the AEV has remained safe and has not allowed any safety violations to occur. The proportional balance in design and moderate speed ensures the consumer that they are investing in a safe vehicle. The design of the AEV is not as unique as the competitors; however, Team D’s effort and success is proved during performance rather than aesthetics.