Cross-functional teams of DU students tackled a business challenge Arrow is facing with its SAM car — a car a driver can operate using only his head. Photo: Wayne Armstrong
On a snowy afternoon in April, 75 students from DU’s business, engineering and computer science and emergent digital practices programs gathered with Arrow Electronics senior officials to compete in the Ideation Challenge.
Cross-functional teams of DU students showcased their collaborative design skills by tackling a real business challenge Arrow is facing with its SAM car. Following a racing accident that left professional driver Sam Schmidt paralyzed, Chakib Loucif, Arrow’s vice president of engineering, asked his team to create a car that a driver could operate using only his head.
Loucif worked with DU’s Project X-ITE to create the Ideation Challenge and to empower students to imagine and design the next steps in the SAM car technology’s evolution. “You’re going to be designing today for people with paraplegia, to help improve their independence,” Loucif said. “How can you leverage the SAM car technology in ways that can be applied beyond driving?”
Throughout the day, interdisciplinary student teams used Play-Doh, popsicle sticks, rubber bands, tin foil, plastic bags and other materials to create prototypes aimed at enhancing the SAM car’s technology. Their inventions included headsets, hand sensors and ear pieces, all designed to harness voice commands, breath control and eye movements that could help in completing such everyday tasks as showering, cooking and driving.
At the end of the work session, students presented their prototypes to executives from DaVita, AirMethods, Charles Schwab, Ball Corp, TerumoBCT and HomeAdvisor. The teams also had their resumés added to Arrow Electronics’ portfolio in order to collaborate on the advancement of SAM car technology moving forward.
“The Ideation Challenge was a creative way for DU students to come together across disciplines to help solve a real-world problem,” DU engineering student Brett Foster said. “My goal is to find a career where I can work on projects like this that make a difference.”