nissan logoStudents at Carnegie Mellon University spent the spring semester exploring the future of electric vehicles through a partnership with Nissan North America (NNA).

The class is a cross-campus collaboration among faculty and researchers at the university’s Carnegie Institute of Technology (College of Engineering), School of Design and Tepper School of Business. The classroom challenge for this semester focused on addressing issues and developing solutions related to electric cars projected to be in the market in the next five years. Professionals from Nissan’s advanced planning and product planning groups, engineers from Nissan Technical Center North America, researchers and designers from Nissan Design America supported the students as they executed their projects. The students’ goal: developing real-world innovations for Nissan electric vehicles.

“Nissan’s electric vehicle program presents an unprecedented opportunity for re-imagining the future of transportation,” saidRachel Nguyen, director, advanced planning, NNA. “The student teams offered uniquely informed perspectives on zero-emission mobility and what that means for their generation.”

The class worked in six teams, each of which spent the semester working towards a single concept, presented today in the final class. Nissan has committed to moving beyond a single electric vehicle solution through the introduction of several electric vehicles, and these different solutions are designed to help Nissan explore future possibilities. Projects include: an in-car work station; an interactive dashboard for entertainment and connectivity; grocery-shopping support system; an automated vehicle cleaning system; a suite of ergonomic features to reduce stress; and a vehicle trash, recycling and organization system.

“Carnegie Mellon University’s interdisciplinary approach to teaching offers these students the opportunity to gain experience on real-world projects,” said Jonathan Cagan, Ladd Professor of Mechanical Engineering and co-director of the Master of Product Development program. “We’re looking forward to the possibility of seeing these solutions on the road, in future iterations of Nissan electric vehicles.” Cagan teaches the course with Peter Boatwright, Associate Professor of Marketing, and Eric Anderson, Associate Professor of Design.

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