Canada, China, India, Mexico, United States of America
Utilization of transit systems requires the traveler to have multi-modal methods of connecting to public transportation during their commute. The “first mile/last mile” connection focuses on the beginning and/or the end of an individual trip made primarily by public transportation. Specifically, it is the need to transport people between a transportation hub, such as railway stations or bus depots, and their workplace, school, home or other destination. Students will work closely together to design a solution that will address the first mile/last mile transportation needs for a target market.
Impact
With population increases, global warming and the depletion of natural resources, cities, transportation and automotive industries are currently seeking solutions to these global challenges. First mile / last mile transport is defined as any smart mobility solutions ensuring first and last mile transport continuity. Seamlessly integrated vehicle systems to help commuters safely complete their trip to work or to school, from home and back, to reduce congestion and pollution in large cities.
Student Experience
Students from nine universities in five countries collaborated to design and build a portable transportation device. Weekly video conferences ensured an excellent international engineering collaboration that led to a constant exchange of useful information. Within each university, students worked on various assemblies or sub-assemblies. Students from different universities also used various social media means to communicate outside the formal video conferences and exchange ideas and solutions. They contacted the mentors or faculty advisers when they did not find acceptable solutions. The mentors or faculty advisers gave them ideas or proposed guidelines that either helped them or made their work easier to finish. The participation to the annual competitions (in Mexico) gave students the possibility to know each other personally, to work together hand in hand to perform the last second updates and finalize the prototype (after the first year). The finished product is to be completed in the second year of collaboration. During the development of the international collaborative project, students and faculty advisers had the opportunity to exchange valuable engineering knowledge.
Countries
Canada, China, India, Mexico, United States of America
Impact
Research, Education, Global Partnerships
Institutional Partner(s)
Virginia Tech USA, Howard University USA, ITESM Monterrey Mexico, ITESM CEM Mexico, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, National Institute of Design NID India, University of Ontario Institute of Technology
Community Partner(s)
Industry Partner(s)
General Motors US, Autodesk, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Oracle, Siemens
Key Outcomes
Publications, Spin-offs
Sponsorship
Foreign
Sponsorship Details
General Motors Co. US provided funds for designing and building the prototype, as well as traveling funds for participating students to the annual forums and competition. Other sponsors include software packages such as: Altair, Ansys, CD-adapco, DCS, dSpace, Gamma Technologies, Mathworks, MSC Software, iSight, Synopsys, Stratasys, Wacom
