UBC Electric Car Club

Today is the first day of our 18-week journey towards building a working prototype for the Olympics.  I’ve re-uploaded the timetable in old Excel format due to the compatibility issue that some people had with the old copy. Please read the timeline thoroughly with dates and notes. All leaders of sub-teams should work on their sub-schedule. See figure for example.

For the Timeline:

click here to download the old format

click here to download new excel format

There had also been reports that there are some issues with the e-mail list. I’ve decided to overcome the issue of some members not receiving their e-mail or having their e-mail blocked by junk filters, by posting all the info on this website. You should check here daily for updates and notices.

To the leaders: I’ve given you admin to this website. You can edit the team structure page by logging in. You can add and remove your team members anytime, as well you may make new postings. Keep in mind: you should post up your team’s progress often for the public to see. It is good for exposure and gaining trust from sponsors.

Starting from the 28th of Sept. We will have 18 weeks to build a working prototype of our electric vehicle for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

I have split the 18 weeks into 3 sections:
1. Designing
2. Building
3. Testing

Designing will take 5 weeks.
Building will take 8 weeks
Testing will take 5 weeks

Click to view the Design Phase Schedule (the first 5 weeks or so) and notes for each team. Keep in mind though, this project is only a prototype and it does not have to be perfect. However, we should still try our best with the given time constraint. Since we only have so little time, keeping up with the schedule is VERY IMPORTANT. I’ve scheduled the tasks for interdependent teams.

For example, the Chassis Team needs to know the specs and size of the battery from the Battery Team, while the Design Team needs to know the specs of the chassis to design the body. Also, the Mech Team needs to know the weight distribution to analyze suspension response. If 1 team misses a deadline, then 3 other teams will very likely be delayed as well. This is very costly as time is very precious to us.

One more thing about the schedule: it is highly recommended for each team to sit down and discuss the final schedule and split up work among different team members. If the Design Phase 2 is due on Friday and you have a midterm on that day, you might want to take on a different task to make sure this project isn’t conflicting with your exams, unless you are feeling very confident.

How much you can learn from this project is determined by how much you put into it. Now is the chance to learn Time management, Leadership and Project Management skills . These are three of the most valuable skills for an Engineer to have and they are what employers look for when hiring. UBC does not really teach these skills, but this project will. Now is the time to become better engineers. Now is the time to set us apart from thousands of engineering students that graduate each year.

For those who feel there should be some adjustment to the timeline, feel free to suggest a change on the upcoming Monday’s meeting (Sept 28th). It is also the meeting where we will finalize this Design Phase Schedule. After that, it cannot be changed.

So that brings us to the meeting on Monday: we have decided to hold weekly meetings every Monday at 6pm. Location will be our club room once it has been setup, but right now we will have to settle with a classroom. The upcoming meeting on Monday will be in CEME 1202. Weekly meetings are recommended for all members to attend. Leaders’ attendance is mandatory. This week we will mainly discuss this timeline and make necessary adjustments. Each team leader will also take turn to speak about his or her visions for the project.

There have been some changes in where our design team is heading as of Monday. The deal with the man who is registered in X-Prize has fallen through. This is because his vision of building a conversion kit for internal combustion engine vehicles was rejected by the X-Prize and I think he is going to withdraw from the competition after speaking to him several times.

However, through these series of events, we have gathered a group of motivated students with a common goal to build an electric vehicle. After discussing with our sub-team leaders on Monday, we have decided to continue to build and design an electric vehicle independent of X-Prize.

We are also in the progress of joining the umbrella of Thunderbird Robotics. I feel that the direction of our club and project may fit the criteria of Thunderbird Robotics better since our project will no longer be constrained by X-Prize’s rules and their goals of commercialization. Now we will be able to incorporate more robotics and intelligent systems and focus on innovations in our design.

We have also set a short-term goal to build a working EV prototype by the 2010 Olympics (in 5 months) that can drive from UBC to Whistler on 1 charge. Since it is hard to fund-raise with just an idea, we are hoping to gain publicity and sponsorship through this accomplishment to raise money in order to fund the further development of our electric vehicle in the future.

Thank you all for coming out. We will post up the nominated leaders shortly along with their photos.

Leaders please e-mail your photos to HR@ubcecc.com ASAP

The following is the list of Leadership positions available for nominations on Tuesday right after the info session.  Please refer to the team structure on our website to see responsibilities.

Link: http://www.ubcecc.com/blog/the-team-structure/

Nominees will make a 3 minute presentation to the group. Preparation in advance is highly recommended.

Electrical Component Team Leader:

Motor Controller Team Leader

Battery Management Team Leader

Mechanical Team Leader:

Module Structure Team Leader

Vehicle Performance Team Leader

Communications Officer

Information Management Team Leader

Business Admin Team Leader:

Publicity Officer (Deal with Media, Event)

Operations Director (Manage facility, Plan social events)

Finance Director (Find Sponsors, Manage Funding)

Business Plan Team Leader

Members who would like to be a team member should figure out which team they would like to join and take note of nominated leaders on Tuesday. You should vote for the most capable individual who you think will most likely lead you towards success.

Coming Up:

Sat Sept 12: Meeting with UBC Student Team Council

Sun Sept 13: Club Meeting to prepare for Monday’s meeting with the Faculty

Mon Sept 14th: Meeting with Head of ECE and Director of Operations at the head office @ 14:30 + Meeting with Dr Kruchten about offering design team members 6 credits toward their 4th year design course.

Tues Sept 15th:  Club Info Session at Kaiser room 2020 at 6pm, following by a Meet The Team Ice-Breaker

Wed Sept 16th: Presentation to Vancouver Electric Vehicle Association at BCIT

We have over 130 people signed up in our e-mail list within 3 hours. We are currently setting up the e-mail list and we will be e-mailing everyone updates and details to a info session very soon.