We joined the Challenge-Future competition recently and we need your feedback/votes ( http://www.challengefuture.org/teams/286/solutions/759) on our idea! So please give us your time! (you need to create a Challenge Future account to vote.. sorry for the trouble. But we don’t really want to lose out to people who have a million spam accounts.. sigh. You know who we’re talking about =) )

Problem:

How do we come up with a cost-effective solution to reduce fuel usage, yet allow businesses to still be profitable?

Solution:

We designed a system called the Seek-Sync-Stream system. For more details, watch the video (only 3 mins)! =p

Background:

Consumption keeps increasing with a richer population, and the associated logistics to transport those goods is a problem. We found out that over 20% of goods (in the US) that are transported by roads are carried by heavy trucks. They are not exactly the best at fuel efficiency. Also, over 50% of fuel is used to overcome air resistance at highway speeds. Even to us who study engineering, that’s shocking.

Notes:

We acknowledge that we need people with experience to guide us, but we believe the idea has potential.

This solution is most effective for long distances and large trucks.

The components can be found from off-the-shelf components that are mass-produced in China. (It is not science fiction.. taobao.com ftw)

Vote for us (http://www.challengefuture.org/teams/286/solutions/759) or email us at info(at)e3alive.org. We like wacky ideas that have the potential to work! =)

FAQs:

Safety?

The effect is still significant according to our simulations (used COMSOL) even at separation distances of 50m. We propose using sensors and cameras to maintain the distance and relative speeds between the travelling vehicles. Communications is via a Wi-Fi network using the TMNR protocol.