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The X PRIZE Foundation today announced details of a unique partnership with Illinois-based MOREY Corporation to benefit the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE, a $10 million dollar competition designed to inspire a new generation of viable, safe and super fuel-efficient vehicles.
MOREY, an innovative Electronics Manufacturing Services (EMS) company, has been providing award-winning comprehensive design and manufacturing services for over 75 years. Their clients include leading OEMs and other enterprises relevant to the aerospace and defense, industrial, utility, communications, heavy on-road/off-road and agricultural vehicles markets. However, it was their strength in telematics hardware design and Data Acquisition Systems (DAS) that led X PRIZE to partner with the Illinois-based firm.
Core to the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE mission is educating the public and K-12 students on highly efficient vehicles and associated technologies. As outlined in the competition’s multi-year education program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, an important component of this education is the ability to transfer important data from each of the competing vehicles in near real time back to a public education Web site, a service that MOREY will develop and lead through their existing DAS hardware.
Prior to the start of on-track vehicle testing in April 2010, a MOREY Data Acquisition System (DAS) will be installed on each one of the competing vehicles. The system will transmit a range of vehicle data such as accelerator position, vehicle speed, fuel economy, and battery power – from each vehicle to a local event server and ultimately to the competition’s education Web site, www.FuelOurFutureNow.org, developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy and Discovery Education. The site allows fans to track the progress of competition vehicles in real time.
One feature of the vehicle tracking will be the calculation of each vehicle’s efficiency, measured as MPGe – miles per gallon or its energy equivalent. A direct link will also be available from the main competition Web site at www.progressiveautoxprize.org. MOREY will work closely with fellow Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE partner, ThinkWrap, on the implementation of the online portal, which will feature a GPS-driven map with interactive vehicle icons and virtual instrument displays to make the experience truly interactive and engaging.
“With a 35-year track record in building and implementing telemetry systems and rugged equipment built to withstand the type of testing that the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE will be performing, we had a lot of confidence that MOREY was the right partner for this project,” noted Steve Wesoloski, Director of Technical Operations for the Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. “Not only are they experts in their field, they hold a common interest in this competition. We’re proud to now officially have them on board.”
“We at MOREY believe in the mission of the X PRIZE Foundation and the education initiatives of the Department of Energy with this competition and are proud to be selected as the data acquisition and communications link between the competing vehicles in the field and the public-at-large,” says Emad Isaac, Chief Technology Officer for MOREY. “We are honored to put our expertise and technology to work for such a worthy cause.”
The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE Education Program, funded through a multi-year grant by the U.S Department of Energy, will engage the general public in learning about alternative fuels, energy efficiency, climate change, and the science, technology, engineering, and math behind advanced vehicle development. A key goal of this national program will be to inspire the public to learn more about and pursue careers in related areas, and to generate excitement about the energy-efficient vehicle options of the near-future.
The Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE will award $10 million in prizes to teams that can engineer clean, production-capable vehicles that exceed 100 MPG or its energy equivalent fuel efficiency (MPGe) and win a rigorous stage competition. Winners of the international competition will be announced in September 2010. For more information about the competition, please visit www.progressiveautoxprize.org.
ABOUT THE X PRIZE FOUNDATION
The X PRIZE Foundation is an educational nonprofit prize institute whose mission is to create radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity. In 2004, the Foundation captured world headlines when Burt Rutan, backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, built and flew the world’s first private vehicle to space to win the $10 million Ansari X PRIZE. The Foundation has since launched the $10 million Archon X PRIZE for Genomics, the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, and the $10 million Progressive Insurance Automotive X PRIZE. The Foundation is creating and conducting competitions in four prize groups: Exploration (Space and Oceans), Life Sciences, Energy and Environment, Education and Global Development. The Foundation is widely recognized as the leader in fostering innovation through competition. For more information, please visit www.xprize.org.
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