Comment by 6stringmerc | Hacker News Reader

Comment by 6stringmerc | Hacker News Reader

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I entered the Local Motors and ARPA-E contest for the Lightweight Sedan challenge and proposed a three part method to reduce weight: Revised chassis, bio-composite materials, and a hybrid drivetrain using micro-turbines to produce electricity to power the vehicle. The contest parameters stressed that the proposal should be "research for the next 10 years." So, I cited the efficiency and extremely light-weight of micro turbines to piston engines, and postulated that increasing technology in battery / KERS systems would compliment the real-world application in time.

Needless to say, I was ridiculously mad when I saw that the winning entries were 1) an aerodynamic proposal based on an exoskeleton, 2) replacing body panels with a new metallurgy compound, and some other thing that I can't recall right now. None of them really addressed the contest parameters. It basically made me swear off any more Local Motors participation.

Anyway, the bright side is that I get to maintain all rights to my entry / materials, so one day, I just might have a chance to develop a concept based on these principles and show ARPA-E and Local Motors what they missed. I guess this is how Ferruccio Lamborghini must have felt at first. Sigh.

Exoskeleton? You mean monocoque construction (aka load bearing skin)?

No, I mean like the chassis components were on the outside of the car, like a bug. That was the crux of their entry, mollified by some talk of aerodynamic efficiency. From what I recall, the rendered images of their concept didn't even have a method of entry for the driver/passengers. No doors. It was...well, frustrating, as my tone probably conveyed.

Re: Monocoque - my entry cited that format to give additional strength to the chassis/panels mating. Bio-composites are approaching the tensile strength of carbon fiber, and could potentially be much easier to mass produce and at a lower price point. I thought the implication that in 10 years, with research, such an avenue would be viable. Instead, the second place entry was some proprietary kind of new metal that could be used to replace body panels...that's it. I remember calling that entry a "body kit" because that's what it reminded me of overall.

Ah, ok. I can definitely understand your frustration since exoskeleton and aerodynamic efficiency don't generally mix.

Thanks for being interested / opportunity to clarify. The rendering actually looked like I-Beams curved into some kind of egg-like shape. It was mathematically sound, sure, but at first glance coming up with an answer "Where can research go with this?" didn't seem apparent.

I tuned in to every Q&A session provided during the contest and time and again they reiterated certain principles for judging...when the results came in, yeah, pretty infuriating. Oh well...it did motivate me to finally meet with a Patent Attorney on a couple other ideas, so some lemonade did come out of it.

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