Building better truck drives students to speed to 'Future'

The hood is up, and the Center for Automotive Design and Intelligent Transportation has begun fielding the 2002 FutureTruck team.

“We’re looking for anyone with a keen interest in engineering,” Yann Guezennec, co-adviser for the FutureTruck team, said. “It’s primarily centered around mechanical engineering.”

All team members are student volunteers.

Guezennec added the team is also looking for non-engineering students interested in handling the business and public relations aspects for the competition.

Although 2001 team captain Mike Hopka thought the competition was a great learning experience, he said the FutureTruck project is demanding.

“It’s such a complex vehicle that it’s a challenge to rebuild the truck,” he said.

This year’s truck is a donated 2002 Ford Explorer.

Guezennec agreed that the competition can be rough.

“The goal is to transform a popular sports utility vehicle into a fuel-efficient truck while still keeping it looking the same,” he said. “It’s definitely a challenge.”

Giorgio Rizzoni, co-adviser for the FutureTruck team and director of the Center for Automotive Research, said while he loves the challenge, he likes to get students involved in the program.

“The educational and research aspects combine for me,” he said. “It’s a great learning experience for both undergraduate and graduate students who have an interest in cars.”

The competition consists of two parts, with the first part of the competition occurring in June at the Arizona Proving Ground in Yucca, Ariz.

Competitive tests last a week, covering safety and improvement in efficiency. After the first June competition, the team will have another year to refine the car.

Rizzoni said the extra year is important to the success of the team.

“We try to learn from our mistakes to improve our truck,” he said.

Rizzoni added the team adds numerous technological improvements to the car.

“We will have to rebuild and redesign whole parts of the vehicle,” he said. “We’ll integrate computer equipment and software into the car too.”

A prototype of the truck should be completed in the spring, Rizzoni said.

The 2002 competition marks the third year of Ohio State’s involvement in the FutureTruck competition.

Before 2000, the competition used a car instead of a sports utility vehicle.

Ohio State’s 2001 team placed 11th last June at the competition in Milford, Mich.

The first organizational meeting for the 2002 FutureTruck team is being held tomorrow at 6 p.m. in 2025 Robinson Lab.