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(Comtex Business Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) BLACKSBURG, Va., Sep 25, 2006 (The Collegiate Times, U-WIRE via COMTEX) --
In an effort to encourage further collaboration with the College of Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Ford Motor Company has announced plans to donate two hybrid vehicles to the university to be used in future projects.
The 2007 Ford Edge made its Virginia debut at the Duncan Ford dealership in Blacksburg, Va., on Monday in conjunction with the Engineering Expo at Virginia Tech where several model cars, including the Edge, were on display.
"The vehicles that are going to be donated are intended to be converted for the DARPA Urban Challenge," said Bill Stinnett, a Ford advanced product creation engineer and a 1994 graduate of the mechanical engineering program and a graduate of the Ph.D. program at Tech.
"Virginia Tech has a very strong history in working with autonomous vehicles; they compete in the Intelligent Ground Vehicle Competition near Detroit and win it every year. They've taken what they've learned there and are applying it to full-size vehicles now," he said.
The vehicles, dubbed Crossover Utility Vehicles, will be used to develop "smart cars" that have the capability to operate without a driver in an urban environment.
While civilian use was considered, the ultimate purpose of perfecting the driverless car in an urban environment is a remotely-operated fighting vehicle and the development of tanks that would eliminate the need for manual control, saving the lives of countless soldiers.
"In the past, they've competed in the DARPA Grand Challenge, which is in a more barren and desert environment, but I think it's obvious why they would turn their focus to a more urban environment with all the things that are happening overseas," said Bill Stinnett.
Seven of the engineers in charge of designing the Edge are graduates of the engineering program. Several of them, including Bill Stinnett and his brother, Joe, were on campus for the Engineering Expo to recruit future employees.
"Virginia Tech offered a lot of great experiences and classes to prepare me for a career in electrical engineering, and more specifically control systems," said Joe Stinnett, a 2003 graduate of the electrical engineering program and an electronic safety systems engineer for Ford. "There are around 110 Virginia Tech alumni currently working for Ford, and we heavily recruit from Virginia Tech."
Stinnett also touched upon the importance of participating in projects offered through the college and their relevance to workplace issues.
"Things like the involvement in student-led projects through the Ware Lab, such as the Hybrid Electrical Vehicle team, Formula SAE and Baja are really important to us and nearly as important as classroom performance," said Joe Stinnett. "These activities really give you the hands-on experience of handling a project, managing a project and even being a team leader, and these are skills we look for in differentiating between our student applicants."
(C) 2006 The Collegiate Times via U-WIRE
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