A team of four students from Carleton University’s School of Industrial Design won the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association (APMA) of Canada Project Arrow design competition, beating out 20 other entries from across Canada. The Carleton team’s design will be used to create an original, full-build, zero-emission concept vehicle.
“We are all incredibly proud of this team and of the remarkable creativity, innovation and hard work they showed to win this competition,” said Carleton President Benoit-Antoine Bacon. “This is a wonderful example of how Carleton strives for sustainability across our academic programs and research, as we state clearly in our new Strategic Integrated Plan.”
The vehicle, based on a small sports utility vehicle, will be designed, engineered and built through a joint effort that includes Canada’s world-class automotive supply sector. Answering Prime Minister Trudeau’s call for a zero-emissions future by 2050, Project Arrow will bring together the best of the best of Canada’s electric-drive, alternative-fuel, connected and autonomous and light-weight technology companies.
“This is a proud and historic moment for Carleton and its students, Kaj Hallgrimsson, Jun-Won Kim, Mina Morcos and Matthew Schuetz, to have their design chosen as a lighthouse for Canada’s shift into zero-emission vehicle development,” said Colin Singh Dhillon, CTO of the APMA. “The level of learning and growth must have been tremendous for all the students.”
The students completed the design for the competition in just 12 weeks during the COVID-19 pandemic while completing courses and working at internships. The design was based on the concepts of freedom, stability and simplicity and is intended to fit Canadian lifestyles, both in terms of the weather conditions and family needs. Over the next year, the students and their new partners hope to also create a virtual version of the car.
“This was an extracurricular project the students did on their own accord, which makes it so impressive,” said Bjarki Hallgrimsson, director of the Industrial Design program. “The students’ work shows the influence of the education and training they received in the program. The mindset of Carleton students is very ambitious and centered on holistic thinking. Rather than just working on styling or manufacturing, they considered many other aspects in their design, including accessibility, general usability and sustainability.”
As the North American market enters a new automotive era that is driven by “ACES” (Autonomous, Connected, Electric, Shared), Project Arrow showcases the capability of Canada’s automotive supply sector by bringing together Canada’s top supply chain, auto-tech companies and academic institutions. Project Arrow builds on the auto sector’s successful, advanced manufacturing roots, with a goal to establish a more value-added, technology-centered foundation that is ready to drive a new automotive age. This foundation will be the bedrock that will encourage investments from manufacturers in Canada and beyond to develop their next-gen product and technologies within the Canadian automotive technology ecosystem.
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Tuesday, October 13, 2020 in News Releases
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