EMBRY-RIDDLE AERONAUTICAL UNIVERSITY / BETHUNE-COOKMAN UNIVERSITY
ABOUT
The Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) / Bethune-Cookman University (BCU) EcoCAR EV Challenge team is a competitive, driven, and diverse team of students and faculty from EcoCAR-experienced ERAU as well as new and excited members from BCU. Both universities provide unique backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, and they are motivated to take on EcoCAR EV Challenge together.
Its students are driven by the engineering challenge, academic development, networking, and career development opportunities that EcoCAR provides. ERAU has participated in EcoCAR since the first EcoCAR competition — EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge — in 2008, where the team converted the Saturn Vue into a 2-mode biodiesel plug-in hybrid, which placed 4th overall in 2009. The team then participated in EcoCAR 2: Plugging In to the Future, where the team converted the 2013 Chevrolet Malibu into a biodiesel series hybrid, which placed 5th overall in 2014. After that, the team competed in EcoCAR 3, where the team converted the 2016 Chevrolet Camaro into a E85 series hybrid, which placed 4th overall in 2015, 3rd overall in 2016, and 2nd overall in 2017. Most recently, the team competed in the EcoCAR Mobility Challenge, where it converted the 2019 Chevrolet Blazer into a parallel-through-the-road hybrid, with some semi-autonomous features.
For EcoCAR EV Challenge, the ERAU/BCU team will convert the 2023 Cadillac LYRIQ from single motor / rear-wheel drive, to dual motor / all-wheel drive, with a unique challenge of a two-speed differential on the front drive unit, as well as enhancing the autonomy features of the vehicle.
Mission
The ERAU/BCU EcoCAR EV Challenge team is committed to developing a diverse team of students dedicated to furthering their knowledge and skills and cultivating a collaborative work and learning environment to achieve their shared goals for competition, education and professional development.
The team strives to provide opportunities for all students to learn, grow and find their launch point into successful careers.
Year 3 Goals
- To complete integration of the team’s major powertrain components and controls systems to drive our LYRIQ under its own power with our team-added parts.
- To increase the number and scope of professional development and practical engineering learning opportunities for our students.
- To continue to foster our culture of inclusivity, innovation, and collaboration.
- To recruit and build larger non-technical teams (PM, COMMs, EIM)
- Set the team up for a successful transition into Spring of Year 3 and the remainder of the EV Challenge, due to a large number of leads graduating in December.
Equity in Mobility
Mobility Barrier: The mobility issue defined by the team was drivers with disabilities. Many individuals with disabilities use a vehicle and have to modify their own vehicle or have to spend money to purchase an already modified vehicle. There are many products out there on the market, but some users find them difficult to use or not as helpful as they would like them to be. We will be working with individuals with disabilities to determine their exact needs in order to design a product.
EIM Project and Year 3 Plans:
The EiM Project is to design a prototype for the LYRIQ for drivers with disabilities. We are currently in the process of choosing what this product will be with the help of surveys being distributed to drivers with disabilities across the United States. We are also talking with the Accessibility Group at ERAU to help us make our final decision. Year 3 will bring the decision of the product, the design, the creation, the testing, the iteration, and the re-testing with the ERAU accessibility team. We are also hoping to work with local rehab centers in Daytona Beach and are in the process of deciding which ones to reach out to.
Community Based Organization Partnership:
The CBO our team is working with is the Accessibility Group at ERAU. They are a team mostly consisting of faculty and administration (some students, but not many) who are dedicated to expanding accessibility and general knowledge about various disabilities to the ERAU community. They formed in January 2023, so they are relatively new.
Their team goal is as follows:
“To define and remove barriers to accessibility across campus whether they are attitudinal, organizational, architectural or physical, information and communications, or technological”
Their mission statement is as follows:
"To integrate access and representation for all by going beyond compliance"
Team Members
Dr. Patrick Currier
Lead Faculty Advisor
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University / Bethune-Cookman University Team
Douglas Turner
Project Manager
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University / Bethune-Cookman University Team
Skye Myers
Communications Manager
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University / Bethune-Cookman University Team
Get Involved
- Location for team meetings:
- General Meetings – Check our mailing list or Instagram for the most up to date meeting details for general meetings.
- Garage Days – Mondays and Thursdays LB 186 from 5:30pm to 7pm
- Leads Positions Opening in December:
- Project Manager
- Equity and Mobility Manager
- Computer Automated Vehicle Manager
- Propulsion and Controls Manager
Contact Information
Address
ERAU Address: 1 Aerospace Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL 32114
BCU Address: 640 Dr Mary McLeod Bethune Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL 32114
Douglas Turner, ERAU Project Manager: [email protected]
Skye Myers, Communications Manager: [email protected]
