EcoCAR Technology Transfer: From the Competition to the Classroom

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology is one of 16 universities that competed in EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge, a three year international competition where teams were challenged to design, build, and test a hybrid vehicle architecture utilizing alternative fuels to decrease the energy consumption and emissions production of a 2009 production GM vehicle on a well-to-wheels basis [1]. A hybrid-electric vehicle is a complex system of subsystems requiring the use of advanced modeling tools, distributed control, and rapid-prototyping. The main goal of the competition is to expose students to the tools, methodologies, and development processes of the automotive industry and to give them a running start if they choose to enter that field. Consequently, the goals of the Rose-Hulman team are to learn the use of these advanced tools, apply these tools to design and realize a hybrid-electric vehicle, and then translate that knowledge into general courses offered to all students at Rose-Hulman.