Creative Design Thinking

Key Areas:

  1. Safety and reliability
  2. Aerodynamic
  3. Light-weight
  4. Aesthetically pleasing

Research Support:

For all engineers, safety should be the top priority.  Any public transportation installed in any city is very safe, and for good reason.  Second priority involves cleanliness and fast travel.  If you look at the best public transportation systems in the world, they are all comfortable, clean, and fast.  Comfortableness is more of a priority on long trips, like Greyhounds or long train trips.  As our system will just be for getting around a city, comfort is necessary but should not be excessive.  This leaves our second tier priorities to be cleanliness and speed.  The aerodynamic outer body of our AEV takes care of both, having a clean look and allowing the AEV to cut through the air, increasing speed.

 

Design Concept 1

“Bomber”

This design is modeled off the shape of a typical airplane, with battery and arduino laying on the back and front wings respectively. The design offers an aerodynamic silhouette and easy access to battery /arduino while also using few materials.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Design Concept 2

“Rocket”

This design is modeled off of the aerodynamics of a plane or rocket and allows the air to flow around the nose of the AEV, making it more efficient. The nose or tip of the plane would be made of a lightweight material making it lighter.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Design Concept 3

“The Rock”

This design is modeled off of safety and stability, making this AEV friendly and reliable . While this model is safe and stable, it is still light and can move swiftly along the track.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Design Concept 4 

“The Flame”

This design is modeled for its’ aerodynamics and stability, making the AEV efficient and reliable. The smooth outer body insures aerodynamics, which will decrease the turbulence of the commute making it a more comfortable ride for the passengers.

 

 

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Reflectance Sensors

The reflectance sensors sense small reflective strips on the side of the wheel to tell how many times the wheels have rotated.  These are key to finishing the MCR because they are instrumental in moving the AEV down the track a pre-determined amount.  Without reflectance sensors, we would have to calculate how fast the AEV travels at each power percentage and run the AEV for a certain amount of time.