Abstract

The mission of the Vehicle Design Summit is to catalyze an Energy Space Race: to identify the key characteristics of events like the race to the moon or civil rights movement and then transpose this energy, passion, focus and urgency to the multitude of global challenges (and opportunities) facing humanity and the planet in this day and age. To achieve this end, VDS will begin by assembling a global consortium of the world's leading thinkers, dreamers, revolutionaries and change agents to develop the collaborative framework necessary to harness the world's genius, imagination and inspiration. To give this initiative an initial focal point for experimentation, innovation and philosophical development the global consortium will design, build and bring to market the VDS Vision 200, a hyper- efficient 6 passenger vehicle earmarked for India that will demonstrate a 95% reduction in embodied energy, materials and toxicity from cradle-to-cradle-to-grave relative to the Prius. To date VDS has involved more than 500 students from more than 30 countries and build six vehicle prototypes. The project has held design reviews in India, China, Belgium, Italy and the United States. In 2008, VDS finished its first passenger vehicle prototype after learning from the masters in Torino, Italy. Last summer, the team met in India to study supply chain and energy infrastructure in our target market. Our next prototype, ArchiMITes, will go through wind tunnel and crash tests this spring.

Submission Document

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