Division Q

Mission:

The mission goal (as put forth in the Mission Concept Review (MCR)) is to develop an AEV (Advanced Energy Vehicle) that has the capability to transport passengers from Linden, one of the most densely populated areas in Columbus, to Easton and Polaris thereby connecting the urban areas to essential services such as healthcare, employment centers, shopping complexes and banking. The primary technical specifications for the AEV are that it should be autonomous, powered by electricity and run while suspended from a monorail system. The budget for the project is $650,000 which will be split between capital, accuracy, time, energy and R&D costs. Hence, thorough preliminary testing will be required before each test run in order to minimize spending. The AEV will, once in operation, be used on a regular basis therefore, energy efficiency is paramount. Furthermore, the AEV should be designed to safely balance on the monorail even when its weight limit is exceeded to preserve safety standards.

The first step of many.

Different prototypes for the belt drive system.