The 37th FISITA World Automotive Congress witnessed the global automotive technology capability of General Motors Technical Center India (GMTC-I), with the unveiling of a locally built prototype electric vehicle (REEV), designed exclusively for the national REEV student competition.
Unveiling the vehicle, General Motors vice president global propulsion systems Dan Nicholson said the world-class capability at GMTC-I made it an important part of GM's global engineering operations.
Engineering is a global function for General Motors and the India design center is an integral part of it. GMTC-I houses a design studio and an engineering center. The India center contributes to a significant percentage of the GM global programs.
It is focused on global programs including design, analysis and development of vehicles and propulsion systems.
"The world-class engineering capability we have at GMTC-I in Bangalore, India, is playing a significant role in GM delivering its commitment to create a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion," said Nicholson.
"I am extremely proud of our team of talented designers and engineers at GMTC-I who developed the Range Extended Electric Vehicle (REEV) prototype. And I'm delighted that the REEV will be the basis for an annual national competition in partnership with SAE for design and engineering students to develop their own vehicles, and drive a new wave of innovation in India," added Nicholson.
Nicholson is attending FISITA 2018 as the global president of the FISITA council and said the auto congress was a unique and powerful opportunity to bring together the leading industry and academic players, together with emerging engineering students.
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"India has rich history in design, engineering and technological innovation and FISITA 2018 marks the first time the annual congress has been held in India," he added.
Nicholson said that as a part of GM's global engineering operations, GMTC-I offered India's leading designers and engineers the opportunity to work on cutting-edge global technology projects, and the potential for global careers.
"We are seeing more change in the automotive industry in these five years, than we have seen in the last the 50," and I believe that designers and engineers will be at the forefront of this innovation," said Marry Barra.
Joining Nicholson at the REEV unveiling, Brian McMurray, GMTC-I Vice president engineering and operations, said the intellectual horsepower of GM's designers and engineers in India was further demonstrated in the team's 71 technical papers accepted by FISITA, covering various innovation areas.
"As well as looking to the future of personal mobility, GMTC-I plays an important role in GM's global core business: designing and engineering world-class vehicles that inspire passion for safer tomorrow," said McMurray.
"At FISITA, GM has deployed the virtual reality facility to provide real-life experience of car crashes and GM's safety technology to the public. As well as being a site to find out more about exciting careers at GMTC-I, our FISITA stalls also provide technology demonstrations and the opportunity to discuss automotive design, engineering and innovation with our team."
A new addition to the team is MITRA, an AI powered robot helper. The robot was previously showcased at the World Entrepreneurship Summit in 2017 and is designed by Bangalore based startup firm Invento Robotics. The indigenous MITRA which runs on a proprietary OS, mans the GMTC-I stall at FISITA and engage with the visitors on various queries.
The humanoid comes with a touch-screen on its chest and understands multiple languages that enables it to engage in smart conversations with the guest.
Though from outset it seems to be a conventional competition, yet it has rewritten the rules, driven by the needs of the Indian economy to have an energy efficient solution for automobiles. REEV competition will explore the new age technology in automotive industry such as hybridization, light weighting, optimization, range extension, fuel awareness etc. Through this competition GMTC-I and SAE Bangalore aim to engage the next generation of engineers making them industry ready and help change the world.
It further aims to inspire students and universities in the wake of Government of India's plan of at least 30 percent on-road electric vehicles by 2030. Alternatively then, the competition offers an opportunity to make personal mobility safer and more sustainable for the customers.