Ford Puts TAF Academy Students In The Driver’s Seat of STEM With Ford Smart Mobility Tour

 In TAF ACADEMY

Ford Puts TAF Academy Students In The Driver’s Seat Of STEM With Ford Smart Mobility Tour.

September 17, 2015-  Representatives from Detroit, led by K. Venkatesh Prasad (Vehicle Design and Infotronics Engineer), brought the Ford Smart Mobility Tour to TAF Academy campus consisting of prototype and new vehicles embedded with “smart” technology. TAF Academy middle and high school students watched, from the passenger seat, demos of the latest driver assistance technologies:

  • The Sync 3 voice recognition communication system
  • Enhanced active parking assist (self-directing both perpendicular and parallel parking)
  • An e-bicycle prototype
  • A trailer backup assist for large truck trailers.

Mr. Prasad, Ford’s “What’s Next guy,” met with a small group of TAF high school students for a discussion of the role of smart technologies and innovative thinking in the automotive industry.

“It’s important for us to look at what the future might have in terms of products and services you might want but at the end of the day, it has to make business sense so that we can actually sustain the business,” says Prasad. “But it’s not enough to just do that. We also have to make contributions to the world, to make the world a better place.” -Prasad

The Smart Mobility technology is designed to help solve larger problems of traffic and parking congestion. Renee, a TAF Academy senior, asked Mr. Prasad what the “driving question” was that led his team to invent these technologies. The Ford team looked at “pain points” in commuting, such as high congestion areas, and worked from there.

“Ford has been building motor vehicles for over 100 years, said Prasad, “but as we look to the future, we really have got to do a few things and do both of them well:

One is to continue providing cars and trucks at affordable prices to all markets around the world.

The second is to look at mobility in a holistic sense. Just ask yourself the question of how you get from A to B, to get from home to work and back, and  then see what the key challenges are, what the key pain points are.”
This method of inquiry, used in today’s high-tech industries, is exactly what TAF Academy is preparing its students to use in their future employment in high-tech industries and STEM research. Just as Ford’s engineers have to identify and then solve traffic problems, TAF Academy students embark on STEM research projects by identifying a driving question or problem, and then work to solve it through project-based learning. Students were excited and energized by the demonstrations on the Smart Mobility tour. They took the opportunity to ask questions and tell all!

Demos of the latest driver assistance technologies:

  • The Sync 3 voice recognition communication system
  • Enhanced active parking assist (self-directing both perpendicular and parallel parking)
  • An e-bicycle prototype
  • A trailer backup assist for large truck trailers.

Licensed students got to experience these technologies from the driver’s seat!

Ford Smart

Our goal at Ford is to make the desirable, affordable. -Prasad

One student, Ayanna, said, “My favorite part of the presentation was the eBike, especially for going into my college years, that would be really helpful  because I do not want to drive everywhere.”

When asked by a student what the best part of working at Ford and being a part of the Smart Mobility project was, Prasad said, “Every day is a fantastic engineering school experience, every day is a fantastic design school experience, and every day is a fantastic business school experience.”

The Ford Smart Mobility Tour showcases how STEM is being used to create solutions for world problems. This served as a reminder to TAF Academy students that learning is a lifelong experience that will take them into their 21st century careers.

 

TAF Academy is a 6th-12th grade STEM-focused public neighborhood school that prepares students for college and careers via an project-based curriculum. One of our primary goals is to enlist students as active participants in their own education, ensuring each students has the knowledge and experience to use STEM as a tool for positive social change; starting in their own community. Learn more on our website.

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