PROJECT: REDSHIFT
Challenge: In 2010, the Progressive Insurance Automotive X-Prize competition challenged us to make an energy efficient car that was safe, affordable and desirable, and would allow consumers to obtain more efficient vehicle choices. Cornell chose to form a fifty-person team in order to tackle this issue and custom built all aspects of the car.
Process: I worked on the Engineering Resources Team designing the HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) system for the vehicle. Since the vehicle had to ultimately be a consumer car, we had strict requirements on acceptable HVAC practices for standard cars that acted as our design constraints. I was specifically in charge of the defroster that was required to melt 0.5 mm of ice off of the windshield in -18C temperatures in less than 30 minutes.
Results: Redshift failed in the early stages of the competition due to an electrical failure during the 200-mile range test. The defroster, however, was able to meet the minimum requirements and passed NY state car inspection. Check out a video of the car’s first test drive here.