Newswise — A team of engineering students representing Wichita State University is among 20 university teams from around the world selected for the second round of the Valeo Innovation Challenge.
The competition, sponsored by Paris-based automotive supplier Valeo, invites students to design a product or system that will create smarter, more intuitive cars by 2030.
More than 1,300 teams from 89 countries proposed projects for the competition. The WSU team, dubbed "NeoZealot," comprises team leader Utkarsh Ranjan, a graduate student in industrial engineering, and Mohd Wamiq Saifi, a master's student at Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India. Ranjan and Saifi studied together at G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology in India before Ranjan came to Wichita State.
The WSU team is one of only two from the United States to be selected for the second round.
A collaborative effort
Ranjan and Saifi now have until July 17 to develop a prototype of their project for the next round of judging. Six finalists will then be selected to present their project in person to a jury during the Frankfurt Motor Show (IAA 2015) in Frankfurt, Germany. The winning team will take home €100,000 (roughly $113,000 U.S.) in prize money. Second- and third-place teams will receive €10,000 each.
Valeo rules state that the team can't release information about the nature of the project until after the competition is over.
The team is working with WSU psychology professor Jibo He on an initial study of their concept using the advanced driving simulator in WSU's Human Automation Interaction Lab that will guide the prototyping.
"Utkarsh is a creative and hard-working graduate student who is always eager to learn," He said. "I am very proud of Utkarsh, and he deserves the Valeo Innovation Challenge for his diligence and talents."
When the prototype is complete, the team will make a video that will explain the development process and specifications and serve as their entry for the next round. Saifi plans to travel to Wichita in the summer to complete work on the prototype and video. The six finalists will be announced in early August.
MEDIA NOTE: Read the Valeo Innovation Challenge press release at http://bit.ly/1IS7lbZ.# # # # #
Contact: Tracee Friess, director of communication, Office of Research, 316-978-5597 or [email protected].
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