Three Semi-Finalist Teams of High School Students Named in National Contest to Design Automotive Dashboard of the Future

PLAYA VISTA, Calif., May 3 /PRNewswire/ -- After months of planning, designing and collaborating, three teams of students from Santa Barbara, CA, San Jose, CA, and Dearborn, MI have been named semi-finalists in the DASH+ high school student contest that challenges students to use their science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills and their creativity to design an eco-friendly automotive dashboard of the future.  An independent panel of expert judges chose the three semi-finalist teams out of dozens of teams from across the country.  DASH+ is part of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE Education Program, funded by the U.S. Department of Energy.

The teams worked together and logged many hours to develop a dashboard concept, technical plan and pitch video that detail how their dashboard of the future will drive change today. The dashboard design maximizes fuel efficiency and encourages behavioral change by providing eco-feedback to the driver.

"It was great to see so many students jump at the opportunity to take the skills they have acquired in class and apply them in this challenge to change the future of transportation," said Mitch Aiken, Director of Education for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. "The caliber of entries shows that teenagers from all parts of the country are excited about STEM and eager to participate in the future of these fields. We look forward to the Grand Prize trip and the chance to reward the winning team for its hard work and creativity."

The three semi-finalist teams, including mentor and student information, are:  

• EDV Technologies from Dos Pueblos Senior High School in Santa Barbara, CA, consisting of mentor Kevin Schantz, and students Jake Moghtader, 16; Nikhil Shinday, 15; and Kelvin Noronha, 15. Team EDV, which stands for El Diseno Verde, incorporates technology that continuously calculates maximum fuel economy based on previous performance of other vehicles on similar road conditions.  The dashboard alerts the driver of environmental impact and awards GreenPoints, creating an eco-friendly competition.
• Harker Innovation Team from The Harker School in San Jose, CA, consisting of mentor Anthony Silk, and students Wilbur Yang, 16; Christine Chien, 17; Isaac Madan, 17; Vishesh Gupta, 16; and Prag Batra, 15. The Harker Innovation Team proposed a tree-shaped speedometer, called eHEART, to track the driver's environmental progress by calculating statistics such as added expenses from driving quickly and greater savings from regenerative breaking.
• DASH Tech from The Henry Ford Academy in Dearborn, MI, consisting of mentor Paula Gangopadhyay, and students Gabrielle Burgess-Smith, 15; Emilio Feliciano, 18; Abdul Hamka, 16; Dylan Huskey, 16; and Darius Wilbert, 17. DASH Tech's plan includes a feature that allows the driver to create a customizable 3D avatar that turns eco-friendly driving into a competition with friends and communicates how the driver's behavior impacts fuel economy and the environment.

Just as teams in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE are in the final laps of their race to see who wins the challenge of developing a consumer-ready, 100 MPGe vehicle, the DASH+ high school students must now win the public's votes in order to cross the finish line. The judges on the DASH+ expert panel come from the Art Center College of Design, IDEO, Saint Louis Science Center, U.S. Department of Energy, X PRIZE Foundation and Discovery Education and represent the fields of automotive design, engineering, education and energy. The panel's score is based on numerous variables but only counts for a part of each team's final score—the rest will be determined through online public voting, which is open through May 31.

Members of the Grand Prize winning team with the highest combined score will travel to Detroit this summer where they will have the opportunity to pitch their dashboard design to representatives from the automotive industry, receive feedback on their entry and meet the teams competing in the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE.

Online voting will take place on the DASH+ contest website, http://fuelourfuturenow.com/contest, where the public can view the semi-finalist submissions and vote once a day until voting closes on May 31.

ABOUT THE DASH+ STUDENT CONTEST

As part of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE Education Program, funded by a $3.5 million dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, DASH+ challenges students to use their creativity, science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills to design, describe, and pitch the next generation of automotive dashboards. Members of the winning DASH+ team will make their mark in the automotive industry by inventing a new way to think about transportation and eco-driving behaviors by collaborating with fellow students and putting their STEM skills to the test. More information is available online at www.FuelOurFutureNow.com/contest.  

ABOUT THE PROGRESSIVE INSURANCE AUTOMOTIVE X PRIZE

The goal of the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE is to inspire a new generation of viable, super fuel-efficient vehicles that offer more consumer choices. Ten million dollars in prizes will be awarded to the teams that win a stage competition for clean, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 Miles per gallon or energy equivalent (MPGe). The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE will place a major focus on efficiency, safety, affordability, and the environment. It is about developing real, production-capable cars that consumers will want to buy, not science projects or concept cars. This progress is needed because today's oil consumption is unsustainable and because automotive emissions significantly contribute to global warming and climate change. For more information about the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, please visit www.progressiveautoxprize.org or email [email protected].

ABOUT THE X PRIZE FOUNDATION

The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational nonprofit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. In 2004, the Foundation captured world headlines when Burt Rutan, backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, built and flew the world's first private vehicle to space to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. The Foundation has since launched the $10 million Archon X PRIZE for Genomics, the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, and the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. The Foundation is creating and conducting competitions in four prize groups: Exploration (Space and Oceans), Life Sciences, Energy & Environment, and Education & Global Development. The Foundation is widely recognized as the leader in fostering innovation through competition. For more information, please visit www.xprize.org.   

SOURCE Progressive Automotive X PRIZE