Team Blog:

6/3/07 - Optional Team Awards Competition to Begin Tomorrow

Tomorrow begins the optional team awards competition. Among those competing for awards for the university will be Sarah Vano in women in engineering, and teams for outreach, Freescale and the MathWorks sponsored awards. Good luck to all the teams. Make Akron proud!

6/2/07 - Website Updates

Check out the website today for many updates!

5/30/07 - Competition Begins!

The week and a half long competition where Joey will be competing against 17 other teams begins today.  Updates as to the team's standing will be posted throughout the event as well as details for year four of the competition. GOOD LUCK ZIPS!

5/24/07 - Joey Off to Competition

Joey officially left for competition today after weeks of hard work by the team.  Look forward to updates from the team as the competition begins in Michigan at the General Motors Proving Grounds on May 30th.

4/17/07 - April Outreach Update and Hard Work Until June

As Joey is being completed for the third year of competition, the team takes time out to focus on outreach events and Earth Day.  The team may be found at the Akron Aeros stadium, at the Cleveland Zoo, as well as on campus for our own Earth Day celebration.  We hope to see everyone there!  Congratulations also goes out to the team for all their hard work this past year.

4/16/07 - Our Condolences to Virginia Tech

The University of Akron's Challenge X team would like to extend our condolences to the professors, students, staff and families affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech this morning.  We will keep you all in our thoughts and prayers.

3/7/07 - Inspection Completed, Full Speed to Competition

With the inspection at the ChallengeX express building being completed earlier today, the team in looking forward to the competition in May and June.   Congratulations to the entire team for their commitment and hard work to bring the project together into one working machine. The outreach team has been working hard on events for March, April and June for the community. We hope to see everyone there!

12/19/06 - Joey Under Construction Over Holidays, Many Events Scheduled for 2007

As the holidays approach, the University of Akron Challenge X team works hard on both the Equinox and Outreach program.  Work continues on Joey, implementing systems into the vehicle and testing the final equipment. The Outreach team has planned many events for 2007. Check the calendar that will be added to the website soon for future dates and events for Joey!

11/18/06 - Outreach Team Connects to the Community

The last few weeks have been busy ones for the University of Akron's Challenge X teams. Joey has recently visited a local GM dealership and was on display for employees as well as representatives of the community to view and ask questions about. Challenge X team members were also present at the most recent ASME meeting to discuss the progress thus far.  Thirdly, a trip was made to Old Trail School to speak with 3 highly energetic groups of eighth grade students about the project and also the capabilities of and needs for alternative fuels.

10/28/06 - New Outreach Program Established for Year Three!

Year Three brings new challenges to the Challenge X team. The Equinox must in full working order and back to looking factory by the end of the year, and outreach has become a much bigger part of the competition than in years one and two.  A new team has been assembled to assist in the media relations and education programs to bring the University of Akron the first place trophy in outreach for this year. Highlighting the new team will be three business students, Melissa Davis being the Outreach Coordinator, Tim Gillespie assisting with the media relations and K-12 educational programs, and Nick Davis, in charge of international markets.  To further the team, Alexis Joliat, an engineering student, has been named RADAR for the team.  With this well-rounded group of individuals added to the brilliance of the current vehicle teams, Year Three should be very exciting for the University of Akron and Challenge X.

6/8/06 - Challenge X Year 2 Competition officially concluded - on to Year 3!

Kudos to Phil and the crew for an amazing awards ceremony - as usual!  They do a great job in truly making the Challenge X awards ceremonies a real show - complete with the annual music video featuring all the teams and their vehicles.

Congratulations goes out to this year's top six teams: Virginia Tech, University of Wisconsin - Madison, Mississippi State University, The Ohio State University, Penn State University, and the University of Tennessee. 

In addition to the awards presented at the Sponsor Social, the Zips are bringing home a third place trophy for The MathWorks: Crossover to Model-Based Design and a third place trophy for Outstanding Outreach.  Overall, the team placed 11th of the 17 teams.  Given the fact that Akron is a rookie team, the complexity of our design, and the happenings during competition, the team is coming back with our heads held high.  We've laid the ground work for a great Year 3 - so watch out for us to come back very strong. 

Special Note:  A huge debt of gratitude needs to be extended to all the Challenge X organizers and GM employees who throughout this competition have devoted numerous hours, energy, and more importantly their enthusiasm and heart to Challenge X.  Kristen, Forrest, Steve, Laurie, Cindy, Bob, Chris, Scott, Tom ...the list is huge and I can't possibly name all of them.  You are an amazing group of people to work with, and I truly applaud you and your colleagues.  Thank you!

We had an absolutely amazing team this year - I can't say enough about the guys on this team and their perseverance throughout this competition.  You are a great group - Thanks everyone!    ~ Angelina

6/7/06 - Static events concluded today

Presentations concluded today, signaling the downward coast to the end of competition.  The Zips had four presentations today - all of which went very well.  Today's presenters were Steve Mattingly and Caleb Shreffler for the Freescale Silicon on the Move Presentation; Nathan Picot and Brian Porto covered the Technical Presentation; and Nathan and Caleb did both The MathWorks Presentation and the Control Strategy Presentation.  The Control Strategy and Technical Presentations were for competition points while the Freescale and MathWorks Presentations were part of the special sponsor awards in which not all teams elected to participate.

Tomorrow morning the team ventures into Mesa for the Awards Ceremony in the morning followed by a media event and Ride & Drive back at the GM Desert Proving Ground which will conclude the Year 2 Challenge X Competition Events.  Check back tomorrow to see this year's competition results.

6/6/06 - Sponsors Social Night highlights contributions by Challenge X sponsors - Thank you!

Representatives from numerous Challenge X sponsors serve as judges for the various presentations which started today and run through tomorrow afternoon.  Competition sponsors not only donate products, funds, and resources, but their employees also really help make this program a success and offer the students great advice and feedback as they learn through the competition.

This evening the teams and the competition highlighted the contributions made by the competition sponsors at the Sponsor Social Night.  Company representatives were on hand to talk with students about their companies and the products many are using in the development and/or build of their vehicles.  Click here to view the Challenge X competition sponsors.

Congratulations goes out to recipients of a few awards tonight - Waterloo for the Spirit of the Challenge Award, Wisconsin, Madison for the Sportsmanship Award, Jama from RHIT for the first annual Women in Engineering Award presented by Lyn St. James, and our very own Angelina Bellino for the RADAR Award and a newly created Bridging the Gap Award also presented by Lyn St. James.

Ms. St. James worked with the Challenge X organizers to develop a new Women in Engineering Award to highlight the contributions made by female Challenge X team members.  Although engineering is still considered a male-dominated profession, as Ms. St. James stated tonight, "It's just that more men showed up."  Thanks to Lyn St. James for her support of women and of the Challenge X competition!

6/6/06 - Static events kick off for the Zips with Outreach, Women in Engineering, and Vehicle Development Review

Static events started today with Akron presenting the Outreach Program in the morning.  Team RADAR Angelina Bellino participated in the first Women in Engineering Award event sponsored by Lyn St. James who interviewed female engineers from various teams to judge the event.  In the afternoon, the team supported Joe Bisbing, Nathan Picot, and Chuck Van Horn as they presented Akron's Vehicle Development Review (VDR).  The VDR is a comprehensive review the Year 2 and incorporates the technical aspects of the vehicle's design as well as events, successes, and challenges throughout the vehicle development process and the competition year. 

Tomorrow the team will participate in the two remaining competition events, Control Strategy Presentation and Technical Presentation, as well as two sponsor events, Freescale Silicon on the Move and The MathWorks.  Good luck guys!

Oh...and we also took our team picture today!

    

6/5/06 - Joey makes a run at trailer towing and on-road fuel economy

Following this mornings emissions run, the team was all set to get Joey through the remaining two events.  Due to power limitations, we were unable to finish the entire 17.24 miles for the trailer tow in the given 20 minutes.  Following the trailer tow event, the team fitted Joey with an 8 hp generator at the rear to recharge the batteries for a shot at the on-road fuel economy.  Talk about engineering on the spot!  Unfortunately, the wire connecting the generator to a battery charger couldn't quite take it, and we had to stop the event.

All in all, it is pretty amazing how many events we were able to attempt let alone compete in given the unfortunate complications throughout the competition.  For a "first year" team (Akron has never competed in a full-scale vehicle competition prior to Challenge X), the team did fairly well and has learned a great deal from this year.  Watch out for Year 3! 

Tomorrow starts two days of static events with numerous presentations: Control Strategy Presentation, Technical Presentation, Vehicle Development Review (which takes place in our pits with Joey), Outreach Presentation, Freescale Silicon on the Move, and The MathWorks. 

       

Pictures courtesy of Roy Feldman

6/5/06 - Emissions event goes well

Early this morning a few team members rolled in to DPG at 4:00 am for Joey to run the emissions event which went extremely well - even given our current hybrid state.  Yesterday presented additional challenges with the generator along with continuing software issues, but the team is very excited about the success of the run this morning and is pushing hard to complete two more events today - trailer towing and on-road fuel economy. 

Today is the last day for dynamic events with presentations starting tomorrow and running through Wednesday.  Check back later to see how things go today for events.

6/3/06 - Braking, Handling, Highway Stability, & Traction Control to Qualify

Late morning and early afternoon Joey ran in the hot desert sun for the first time.  Way to go Mike!  Team Leader Mike Roblin did a fantastic job as driver.  For the handling event, Mike almost matched the GM driver's time with the stock Equinox - just 0.3 seconds short. 

Akron has qualified to continue in the remaining events.  We were closed out of the acceleration runs due to mainly to time.  Tonight the team is working on improving the vehicle's systems for the upcoming events -  AVL Drive Quality, On-road Emissions, On-road Fuel Economy, and Towing.

Pictures courtesy of Roy Feldman

6/2/06 - Joey passes Tech!!!

Joey is on the board and has passed tech inspection!  There are still a few decisions to be made and kinks to work out, but the team is on it and looking to complete qualifying events tomorrow. 

The Zips want to express our utmost thanks and appreciation to the staff here at GM and the support here at competition - everyone is absolutely amazing!  Basically anything we need or ask for, they can provide.  We really appreciate all their help and support.  Thank you!!!

Pictures courtesy of Roy Feldman

6/1/06 - Joey makes it to Tech Inspection

After a full 12+ hour day, the team is looking forward to completing tech inspection first thing tomorrow morning.  Challenges popped up throughout the day, but the Zips tackled every one with gusto. :o)

Tomorrow is another 12+ hour day, so we're heading back to the hotel for some major sleep.  Looking forward to qualifying events - loading up on the sunscreen and donning the hats for the 100+ temperatures!

       

Pictures courtesy of Roy Feldman

5/31/06 - Zips work hard toward Tech Inspection

The team started at DPG when pits opened at 7:00 am with a running start on final tasks to complete before tech inspection.  Three of the seventeen teams were able to pass tech inspection today, but unfortunately Akron did not fall into this elite group - partially due to a couple setbacks with a fried LCD screen and controller for the linear actuator.  The silver lining: these are more minor setbacks and we actually have a better LCD screen now than before!

Everyone is going to get a good night's rest tonight so we can push hard tomorrow.  Check back to see how Joey does at tech inspection and the qualifying events!

5/30/06 - Challenge X Competition Kicks Off With Skit Night

Eighteen students, two faculty, and one staff member from The University of Akron's Challenge X team headed out to Arizona for the start of the Year 2 Challenge X Competition at GM's Desert Proving Grounds in Mesa.  The team met at the Express Building bright and early - 6:00 am - to catch a flight out of Cleveland.  Travel in went smoothly (YEAH!) even with all the electrical equipment checked in bags and boxes. 

Competition events kicked off with the traditional Skit Night at Rustler's Rooste in Phoenix.  Each team performed a skit related to the year's events - the organizers even perform a skit every year.  The Zips went with the western theme and played on the fact we built a mule vehicle with Red as well as paying homage to our SAE teams.  We took everyone back in time to 1864 with SEE (Society of Equestrian Engineering) versions of Formula (Pony Racing Team), Mini Baja (Off-road Buggy), and Supermileage (Super Plowage Team) centered around a horse.  The final team was Challenge A which set out to create a hybrid with "sweet relations" between a donkey and a horse to create a mule.

          

The team starts off bright and early tomorrow morning with pits opening at 7:00 am.  Visit the blog page throughout the competition to follow the team through the Challenge X Year Two Competition.

Night all! :o)

5/25/06 - Joey sets out for Arizona

In the early hours of this morning, the Zips sent Joey on his way to Arizona.  Sharing a vehicle transport down are vehicles from Penn State, West Virginia, and Ohio State.  After a week plus of all-nighters, the crew looks on as Joey and the crates are safely loaded on the transport.

              

5/24/06 - Joey Lives!

Check out video of Joey driving in the parking lot this morning!  The team has been putting in a lot of long hours - we know it's morning when the birds start singing.  With a few more things to button up and some final testing, the Challenge X team will be sending Joey off to Arizona tomorrow morning.  Competition events start on Tuesday, May 30th, at GM's Desert Proving Grounds in Mesa, Arizona.  Keep watching the blog page for daily competition updates!

Joey Video: Click Here

5/16/06 - Challenge X team working hard - Joey gets decals

The team is working very hard, but it has admittedly been a very long month.  Our GM Mentor visited us last week - Thanks Scott!  Components are all mounted, Rob is working on the rear floor, and the systems are all being double-checked before a test run.  Channel 19 in Cleveland did a wonderful segment on Akron's Challenge X team which aired on Friday - we hope people in Northeast Ohio were able to see us and Joey on the evening news!  Joey now is decked out in Akron having just come back from Power Media with shiny new decals.  Visit the Picture Gallery to see pictures of Joey and the team hard at work. 

4/21/06 - Zips Challenge X reminds everyone April 22nd is Earth Day!

Akron's Challenge X team wants to remind everyone that tomorrow, April 22nd, is Earth Day.  From the official Earth Day website, www.earthday.gov:

Earth Day is a time to celebrate gains we have made and create new visions to accelerate environmental progress. Earth Day is a time to unite around new actions. Earth Day and every day is a time to act to protect our planet.

The Earth Day website offers great tips on how to take action to help our planet - at home, in the classroom (including activities for teachers), and at the office.

Challenge X focuses on challenging teams to reduce energy consumption and emissions on a Chevy Equinox.  These goals represent the importance placed on finding better transportation alternatives to help address the environmental issues we face.

4/18/06 - Joey takes a spin around the parking lot

Joey's half shafts held up great!  The Zips tested the front half shafts in the parking lot and around campus late last week.  Click on the video link below to see a short movie created by Team Leader Chuck Van Horn.  Director's note: there was no front sway bar due to a temporary exhaust system, so the vehicle leans more on fast turns in the video than it will.

View video:  No longer available

3/24/06 - Zips have big plans for Spring Break

A new turbo is being installed on the engine this weekend and as well as modifications to the mounting for the Ballard drive motor.  The team plans to begin vehicle testing - particularly the Baker's climb - by the middle of spring break and will progress through a whole list of full-vehicle tests culminating in on-road emissions testing.  Thanks to the Lubrizol Corporation and Engine Control Systems for all of their support in our emissions efforts.  Series mode testing also continues and will be concluded in the upcoming two weeks.  Thanks to the Gates Corporation for their product donation and technical assistance!!

- Angelina Bellino, Team Logistics Coordinator

3/24/06 - Check out our newest page - About Our Equinox - all about Joey!

The newest page on the Zips' website is all about our Equinox, Joey.  The link is located under the About tab.  Find out more technical information about Akron's vehicle design including the team's anticipated vehicle technical specifications such as acceleration times.  (We apologize, but the link seems to be acting up and is missing from some of the pages.)  Click here to view the About Our Equinox page.

The photo gallery accessible from the home page has also been updated.

- Angelina Bellino, Team Logistics Coordinator

3/8/06 - Akron is first team on the list for pre-competition inspection

What a push for the Pre-Competition Inspection!  In just a little over two weeks, the team went from a parking lot vehicle with Red to having a more refined-looking parking lot vehicle with Joey.  The parking lot vehicles included the engine and transmission, Ballard drive motor and new rear suspension mounted and functional, the communications and control systems on board, and a battery pack to provide electrical power to the drive motor.  Thanks to everyone for putting in the long hours to get ready for Steve and Forrest's visit yesterday!

Safe travel to the organizers and Good Luck to the rest of the Challenge X teams on their Pre-Competition Inspections!!

- Angelina Bellino, Team Logistics Coordinator

3/2/06 - Thanks to team members for help on getting Joey ready for a Parking Lot Test this weekend!

Thanks to all who came down this past weekend to help put the engine in Joey.  It was a big step in getting the vehicle ready for competition, and we appreciate all the effort.  The fuel system has been installed as well, and the electric drive motor will be in by the end of the week.  Our goal is to have Joey driving in the parking lot this weekend and be ready for the Pre-Competition Inspection on Tuesday, March 7th.

- Mike Roblin, Packaging Team Leader & Chuck Van Horn, Engine Team Leader

3/1/06 - Communications Gateway Up and Running

The removal of the stock Chevy engine and transmission necessitated a go-between device to update the new hybrid controls with important information needed from various modules and sensors remaining on the car, such as ABS.  The communications team has nearly finalized the software for the custom network gateway we've programmed in house.  Using keyswitch logic, the network gateway is able to pass information back and forth between networks, and has even been tested on the instrument panel to successfully change the Speedometer reading (and other gauges) while the vehicle is stationary.  When the other components are completely installed, the gateway will be used to exchange real data between networks.

- Jim Faucett, Communications Team Leader

The gateway is an essential component for Joey's stock systems, our Supervisory Control system, the VW engine's system, the Ballard drive motor's system, and a host of other components and systems to be able to communicate with each other.   Congrats to our communications team! 

- Angelina Bellino, Team Logistics Coordinator

3/1/06 - Thanks to GM & the Competition Sponsors!

Akron wishes to extend a HUGE thank you to General Motors and the other more than 30 competition level sponsors for their support at competition.  GM recently donated over $6,500 to the Zips for travel to competition.  For more information, please see our Media Spotlight page under Outreach.  The competition organizers also just released to us all the possible awards available for this year's June competition in Arizona.  Thanks again!

- Angelina Bellino, Team Logistics Coordinator

2/14/06 - Parking Lot Testing a Success!

As of early this afternoon, the Zips have cleared a major milestone with the successful run of Red in the parking lot.  Nathan was able to drive Red up and down the parking lot under the power of both the Ballard drive motor and the VW diesel engine.

2/13/06 - Parking Lot Testing Update

Applying the old adage "measure once, cut twice," the team's plan is to integrate the main subsystems into a salvage Equinox, Red, prior to integration into the competition Equinox, Joey.  This past week the engine, transmission, battery and drive motor were integrated into Red, and the team hoped to drive Red around the parking lot on Friday. 

Everyone has been working extremely hard and everything came together for the subsystems to be integrated into Red, but there was some troubleshooting that needed accomplished over the weekend.  The engine started on Friday and was started and run for over an hour again on Saturday.  We put the transmission into gear and watched the wheels spin in forward and reverse while Red was on the lift.  Saturday night a few bugs were worked out on the Ballard drive motor and the rear wheels were spun.  Unfortunately we had a problem with the starter on Saturday, pushing back the parking lot driving test for Red.  A starter is being sent overnight thanks to Kempthorn VW.  If everything goes well, we will be driving Red on Tuesday!

This is a huge step for the team because it allows us to test the electric only, mechanical only, and the parallel modes of operation for the vehicle.

- Chuck Van Horn, Engine Team Leader

2/6/06 - Zips Challenge X featured in UA TV ad.

Did you see us during the Super Bowl commercials?  For those of you more local to the Akron area, be sure to watch for the team in The University of Akron's television ad for the upcoming campus Visitation Day on February 20th.  You can see Communications Team Leader Jim Faucett comparing a part to the CAD drawing created by Team Leader Brian Porto followed by a compilation of stills of the team with our Project Initiation Approval Display.  Thanks to Jim, Brian, and team member Jamie Anderson who all three volunteered for the video shoot -- especially since I forgot to mention the hair and make-up part when they volunteered.

- Angelina Bellino, Team Logistics Coordinator

2/2/06 - New Team Leader Posts.

Welcome to the Zips’ Team Leader Corner! Team leaders will be posting periodic updates on the team’s progress towards the June Challenge X Competition in Arizona plus other information regarding the ChallengeX project.

- ChallengeX Webmaster