Challenge X: 2008 - About
The freedom that personal mobility provides is a building block of America's culture and strength. Over the last decade, the American automotive customer market has tended toward larger family-sized vehicles because of the utility they provide over passenger cars that get better fuel economy. At the same time, there has been a greater demand to reduce energy consumption and vehicle emissions. As a result, the auto industry, the U.S. government, and the academic community have been working together, through a series of competitive programs, to develop and explore advanced vehicle technologies that address important energy and environmental issues.
Since 1987, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has sponsored more than two dozen competitions challenging thousands of engineering students to achieve better fuel economy and lower emissions while maintaining the safety, performance, utility, and consumer appeal of a variety of vehicles.
Now, General Motors Corporation (GM), DOE, and other government and industry leaders have developed a new competition called Challenge X: Crossover to Sustainable Mobility. This ground-breaking, three-year competition will give engineering schools an opportunity to participate in hands-on research and development with leading-edge automotive propulsion, fuels, materials, and emissions-control technologies.
Competition Objectives
Seventeen teams have been challenged to re-engineer a GM Equinox, a crossover sport utility vehicle to minimize energy consumption, emissions, and greenhouse gases while maintaining or exceeding the vehicle's utility and performance. Year 1 will focus on modeling, simulation, and testing of the vehicle powertrain and vehicle subsystems selected by each school. In June 2005, teams will come together to undergo extensive judging and evaluation. Teams will receive scores for five reports, a Pre-Competition Hardware Evaluation, an Oral Presentation, a Live Simulation Event, a Trade-Show Booth Event, a Control Strategy Oral Presentation, and K-12 Education Outreach Program. The teams that demonstrate a mastery of the key aspects of modeling their powertrain choice and constructing and controlling the powertrain will receive a donated GM Equinox after the June 2005 competition. Years 2 and 3 will require teams to develop and integrate their advanced powertrain and subsystems into a donated GM Equinox. At the conclusion of each of these competition years, teams will come together to undergo extensive judging and evaluation. Events will encompass energy use and emissions goals, vehicle utility and performance, engineering, and K-12 Education Outreach.
Team Resources
Participating teams will be given extensive resources to help achieve their objectives, including substantial technical support and mentoring from GM and other sponsors. Each team will also receive $10,000 in seed money and is eligible to receive up to $25,000 in additional production parts from GM and considerable software and hardware donations from other sponsors.
Using GM's Global Vehicle Development Process, teams will gain valuable experience in real-world engineering practices. These highly skilled engineers will also develop a strong understanding of advanced vehicle technologies that will prepare them to lead the automotive industry into the 21st Century and enable North America to remain competitive in the global marketplace.
