DETROIT ARSENAL, WARREN, MI – The U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) has launched a program that harnesses government, industry and academic solutions to provide the next-generation of fuel-efficient ground vehicles.
While a systems-engineering approach to military vehicle technology development is underway with Select Engineering Services, Inc., (SES) and World Technical Services, Inc. (WTSI), TARDEC tapped a non-conventional resource for the vehicles’ design – college students.
TARDEC’s Fuel Efficient ground vehicle Demonstrator (FED) program engaged a team of Transportation Design students at the College for Creative Studies (CCS) to help develop the interior and exterior features of one of the two fuel-efficient demonstrators under development.
The CCS work will be displayed in TARDEC’s exhibit at the 2010 SAE International 2010 World Congress at Cobo Center in Detroit.
Approximately 15 CCS Transportation Design juniors are spending the winter semester researching requirements for military vehicles and designing fuel-efficient demonstrator concepts. Throughout the semester they are covering design principles, drawing, rendering techniques and digital modeling while working with WTSI and TARDEC engineers. These lessons are incorporated into design work that produces concepts that address functional needs in the field, fuel efficiency, weight and aerodynamic principles. The three top student designs will be produced as scale models, with the top design incorporated into the WTSI FED demonstrator under development.
“The collaboration between WTSI, TARDEC and our Transportation Design students on the Fuel Efficiency Demonstrator is a perfect opportunity for CCS students to work in a professional environment with real-world requirements aimed at delivering a creative outcome,” said Professor Mark West, Transportation Design, CCS.
The WTSI FED is scheduled for completion in the first quarter of 2011.
ABOUT TARDEC
Headquartered at the Detroit Arsenal in Warren, MI, TARDEC is the Nation’s laboratory for advanced military automotive technology and serves as the Ground Systems Integrator for all DOD manned and unmanned ground vehicle systems. With roots dating back to the World War II era, TARDEC is a full life-cycle, systems engineering support provider-of-first-choice for all DOD ground combat and combat support weapons, equipment and vehicle systems. TARDEC develops and integrates the right technology solutions to improve Current Force effectiveness and provides superior capabilities for Future Force integration. TARDEC’s technical, scientific and engineering staff lead cutting-edge research and development in Ground Systems Survivability; Power and Mobility; Intelligent Ground Systems; Force Projection; and Vehicle Electronics and Architecture.
TARDEC is a major research, development and engineering center for the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM) and partner in the TACOM Life Cycle Management Command.
For more information about TARDEC, visit us at www.tardec.army.mil.
You can also follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TARDEC_PAO.
ABOUT CCS
The College for Creative Studies, located in Detroit, is a world leader in art and design education and prepares students to enter the new, global economy where creativity shapes better communities and societies. A private, fully accredited college, CCS enrolls 1,400 students pursuing Master of Fine Arts degrees in Design and Transportation Design and Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees in Advertising Design, Art Education, Crafts, Entertainment Arts, Fine Arts, Graphic Design, Illustration, Interior Design, Photography, Product Design and Transportation Design. The College also offers non-credit courses in the visual arts through its Continuing Education programs and opportunities for youth through its Community Arts Partnerships programs. For more information visit www.collegeforcreativestudies.edu.
