Project MACRO- The Foldable Electric Car

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The recent boom in the sale of automobiles in India has resulted in two primary concerns:
1. The after effects of the rampant green house gas emissions.
2. The lack of adequate parking facilities leading to bottle-necking of the roads.

Since this trend is expected to rise steadily, it would be wise to think of a solution on similar lines. Hence, in order to meet these requirements of the immediate future there is a need for smarter vehicles. Smarter vehicles in this context refers to clever automotive design that incorporates ergonomics. The additional question that lingers in one’s mind is the long term viability of these concept vehicles: This is where the whole system, energy focused design takes over, ranging from the amount of energy for extraction of raw materials through the running cost of the vehicle. Thus, the team utilized this very approach in every stage of the design.

The design inspiration for Macro was derived from nature, by visualizing the movement of a caterpillar which executes a series of compression and rarefaction as if it were a sound wave in motion. This is clearly built into the core of the vehicular design by utilizing a power screw driven by an auxiliary motor. This transform-ability is achieved during the stationary condition bringing alive the concept of efficient spatial utilization.

The principal objective was the development of an automobile that incorporates spatial utilization in a sustainable manner which runs on an alternative energy form, i.e. electrical energy. This readily demanded the team to segmentalize the design requirements into the following:
• The possible mechanisms involved.
• The elements that form the mechanisms.
• The overall optimization of the mechanisms.
• The design and analysis of the components involved.
The team structured the first phase of the design independently among its members, later coalescing the most feasible and practical solutions into the second phase and hence the concept. The design, optimization and analysis phase was a unified effort that involved concurrent activities with mutual co-ordination, finally resulting in Macro.

The design primarily encompasses environmental sustainability, economic sustainability.
In this context the vehicle has been tweaked to incorporate environmental sustainability into its design in the following ways:
• Recyclability
• Light Weight
• Energy Efficiency
• Green Materials

The vehicle also incorporates economic sustainability in the following ways:
• Maintenance
• Durability

This vehicle designed a new class of fold-able electric vehicle able to overcome the main limitations of the present problems like:
1. The after effects of the rampant greenhouse gas emission.
2. The lack of adequate parking facilities leading to bottle-necking of the roads.
3. Rise of fuel price.
Thus this vehicle can avoid these major problems in present automobile world and transportation system up to certain extend.

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  • ABOUT THE ENTRANT

  • Name:
    Vaisakh R Sarma
  • Type of entry:
    team
    Team members:
    Vaisakh R
    Arjun Premchandran
    C Keerthivash
  • Profession:
    Student
  • Number of times previously entering contest:
    never
  • Vaisakh's favorite design and analysis tools:
    Autodesk Inventor 2013
  • Vaisakh's hobbies and activities:
    Designing Conceptual Model of Vehicle, Philatelic
  • Vaisakh belongs to these online communities:
    Facebook
  • Vaisakh is inspired by:
    The design inspiration for Macro was derived from nature, by visualizing the movement of a caterpillar which executes a series of compression and rarefaction as if it were a sound wave in motion.
  • Software used for this entry:
    Autodesk Inventor 2013, Autodesk Showcase 2013, Autodesk Sketch Book 2013, Autodesk Inventor Publisher 2013
  • Patent status:
    pending