Students design features for the car of the future at Imperial

Students design features for the car of the future at Imperial. Industrial Design and Engineering postgraduates are helping a motor company to design a new car %0A " - Thursday 26 March 2009 - By Colin Smith A car manufacturer has asked postgraduates to design features for cars of the future in a joint project at Imperial College London and the Royal College of Art. Students from the two institutions who are studying for a Masters degree in Industrial Design and Engineering (IDE) are collaborating with Ford to come up with new features that meet the future needs of consumers. IDE Joint Course Convenor Professor Peter Childs , of Imperial's Department of Mechanical Engineering, says students are being taught the processes that the car industry goes through to design a new car. He adds: "Evolving customer tastes and requirements mean that as soon as car manufacturers release a new car they start to think about how they can improve the next model. Thanks to Ford's patronage, our students get the chance to come up with new ideas for vehicle designs that they could one day see released onto the market." As part of the project, Ford donated two cars to the Colleges for students to analyse and use for their new designs. Over a four week period, designers from the company's advanced product group have been visiting students to get progress reports on their work.