Fostering the Future of Ford: Clemson University Reveals First AV Prototype
By Jamie Forbes, Enterprise Connectivity Manager, Ford Motor Company
At Ford, we’re working to build a better world where every person is free to pursue their dreams. Developing innovative mobility solutions for the future will require building a new generation of engineers, designers and creatives minds. That is why we teamed up with Clemson University’s Deep Orange automotive engineering program — a two-year master’s program where students design and build fully-functional concept vehicles from the ground up.
For the program’s tenth iteration, called Deep Orange 10, the students designed the University’s first self-driving electric vehicle prototype for passengers. Throughout the project, Ford’s role was to guide and advise students. I am excited to share the results of the student’s hard work: a self-driving vehicle experience with human-centered design at the forefront.
Built from the ground up: To bring this autonomous concept vehicle to life, the students started from the ground up to imagine use cases for self-driving vehicles. Using a human-centered design lens, the students focused on: giving time back to families during a commute or while traveling; connecting college students who might not have a vehicle; and maximizing productivity for business professionals on the go. Driven by these focused customer benefits, the final design features a vehicle experience focused on passenger comfort and intuitive controls.
·Spacious ride: For use as a personal vehicle, the interior feels like a living room on wheels, with seats facing each other, step-over and sliding swing-out doors for maximum accessibility. The team also envisioned a semi-transparent display screen on the windshield to show navigation and entertainment options.
· Touchless experience: With intuitive controls like voice and gesture commands, a rider can direct the vehicle to make a decision. For example, by pointing to a parking space or by voicing a direction, the car could self-navigate to the indicated destination. This could be extremely helpful in a post-COVID world, minimizing contact with high touch surfaces.
· Passenger comfort: The team also wanted to gauge passenger comfort via wearable devices that detects any passenger discomfort and modifies the car’s driving behavior such as speed and driving style to mitigate discomfort for things like motion sickness.
While Clemson students were responsible for designing the vehicle and creating an innovative user experience for a rider, an additional team of students from the Transportation Design Department at College for Creative Studies (CCS) in Detroit were key to bringing the self-driving concept vehicle design to life from the interior to the exterior including the silhouette, face-to-face seating concept, innovative graphics and user experience. Previously, we shared the initial design sketches of the prototype generated by CCS students: Hyunhong Jo, Chris Kim and Steven Lee, who is now a Ford employee. Once the digital creative design of the concept vehicle was complete, the student teams worked together with Ford to take the vehicle from digital to physical reality, including enabling the vehicle with the capability to drive autonomously within a small defined area.
Strength of the automotive partnership: Deep Orange is a sought-after program for students because it provides them with the hands-on experience of taking a car from concept to reality. Students are free to pursue their creativity and vision for the future of the automotive industry while receiving feedback and guidance from an automaker like Ford. It is a powerful learning experience for a budding engineer. Working with students doesn’t just help prepare them for a successful career in the industry — it also keeps Ford at the forefront of cutting-edge research and creative thinking. This project also held special significance for our Ford team as the employees advising the students were Clemson alumni from previous Deep Orange projects.
Nurturing the talent of tomorrow: Since hiring our first Clemson Deep Orange alumni, we’ve had great success bringing graduates and undergraduates from the University into the Ford family. Today, we employ more than 50 graduates of Clemson’s Automotive Engineering program, half of whom participated in the Deep Orange program. Out of the Deep Orange 10 team, five found their home at Ford following graduation.
The Deep Orange 10 Team’s Perspective: Here is what the Deep Orange 10 alumni team and now Ford employees have to say about their experience:
“For many of us, myself included, Deep Orange was our first real step into the automotive industry. Dealing with suppliers and partners, working under the pressure of deadlines, sharing responsibilities, presenting my ideas and supporting research in a concise manner, all these skills jumpstarted my professional career. Applying for a position at Ford after graduation was a no-brainer. Working closely with the engineers from Ford for close to two years, gave us students a keen insight into the work culture at Ford and I was very impressed by what I learned. I knew that Ford would be able to help me reach my career aspirations and I like to think that my time in the Deep Orange program also showcased my capabilities to our partners at Ford which further strengthened my application.” — Shiamak Bhathena, Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Engineer, Ford
“I don’t think there is a better program out there than what Clemson University offers with Deep Orange. You are working in close quarters with 12 other students and every decision you make happens in that one room. It is a much faster development than at an OEM, so we had a pretty challenging timeline. Besides focusing on the engineering of the vehicle, I also got a chance to put on my creative hat and work with the Ford team and Sage Automotive Interiors in the selection of colors and materials to bring our ‘Living Room on Wheels’ interior concept to life. Through this collaboration, I was also able to get to know the work culture at Ford, and that was one of the things that made me want to apply for a job here after graduation. Ford has a very diverse workforce, it is inclusive, and the Ford advisors gave us lots of responsibility but were supportive throughout the entire process, which was important to me when looking for a job.” — Ali Abbas, Vehicle Architecture Engineer, Ford
First-Look at the Design: From their early designs to the finished prototype, these students brought new focus and passion with a real-world project. Congratulations to this outstanding cohort of engineers. We truly will see a brighter, better transportation future, because of passionate, skilled engineers like the Deep Orange 10 class. Clemson University’s first autonomous vehicle prototype is now on display at the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport, if you are in the Greenville, South Carolina, please take a look!
