KISD – Köln International School of Design and its project team “Tilt“ finished third place in University of Applied Sciences and Art Hildesheim’s Electric Screwdrivers’ Race 2016. The event took place on June 25 and was the ninth race of this kind addressed to domestic and international design and engineering schools. Besides the aspect of “racing“, the event also serves as an occasion to elaborate on issues of future mobility concepts.
This year, KISD students participated for the fourth time in the race event and developed within the area of expertise “Design for Manufacturing“ a vehicle driven by an electric screwdriver. With a male or female driver sitting in the racing cockpit and the circuit a venue in Hildesheim as large as a sports field, 2016’s Electric Screwdrivers’ Race this year went international and included, among teams from Cologne, Hildesheim, Wolfenbüttel, Emden and Coburg, also teams from the Netherlands and Poland. In the preliminary rounds, the racing teams competed again each other at random selection, in the main round, the racing procedure followed knock-out stage for the final winners.
KISD with an International Team
The respective teams this year had to follow the regulation of integrating a load-bearing component of 50 centimeters into the vehicle, produced in a generative process and developed by KISD in cooperation with German Aerospace Center DLR. It consists of different single components and was developed as a high-strength, light-weight element from aluminium powder. Drive frame and chassis were produced at KISD and at its metal laboratory. This KISD racing car, driven by the KISD team “Tilt“ and truly international by team members from Germany, Belgium and Mexico succeeded in making it twice onto the podium, ranked third in the category “pace“ and also ranked third in the category of the overall specialist jury. The “Screwdriver“ team of Ostfalia, University Wolfenbüttel, finished first place, the audience award went to “MoPet“ team of University of Applied Sciences Hildesheim.
Concepts for Future Mobility
Besides its character as a racing event standing in line with and upholding the spirit of the 24 hours of Le Mans and the Formula 1, the Electric Screwdrivers’ Race also serves as an occasion to discuss and elaborate on future concepts of mobility. How can energy be used as efficiently as possible? How can innovative technology, in the truest sense of the term, be put onto the roads? How do we connect data for the transport of people and goods and how do we shape and create enthusiasm for energy-saving driving technology?
In 2014, Formula 1-boss Bernie Ecclestone and other motor sports traditionalists rather met the softer and quieter hybrid Formula 1 engines with skepticism. However, in test drives in the KISD courtyard and during the final race, the electrically-driven KISD racing car behaved like a real Formula 1-Ferrari rotating at high speed, masterly driving on and over the curbs, making it professionally into the pit stop lane for some regular stops, won the little final and ultimately finished third place.