-       Clarify the ARC’s positive role in the mind of the public through the ERV

-       Remove barriers in order to increase and improve the interaction between the client and the volunteer

-       Improve ergonomics of the ERV and its systems for the volunteer experience

-       Increase the ERV’s role in promoting prevention and preparedness

-       Reduced ERV operational cost

-       Increase flexibility of ERV platform to respond to probable and likely threats and adapt to future conditions

-       Optimize the supply chain and life cycle of food

Fast forward 2 years.  January 2013.  The American Red Cross is testing two new prototype ERVs that will eventually replace the 300+ fleet nationwide.  The new designs were heavily influenced by the work that was done by our students and the American Red Cross will be showcasing the new prototype at Art Center in March.

Check out the ARC press release!  (http://www.redcross.org/news/article/Red-Cross-Introduces-New-Emergency-Response-Vehicles)

Technology is changing the way people interact in the mountains – we are demanding more information than ever before.  With Oakley’s recently release of its Airwave goggles, Oakley now joins Scott, Briko, and many others in providing new ways of information consumption for the avid outdoor recreationalists.  Preliminary research shows that there may be an opportunity to leverage the industry’s capabilities to positively impact the work environment of the emergency care and safety service providers, and thus enhance the winter outdoor experience.

(Photos courtesy of Vic Macias Photography and Atalaya Search and Rescue Team)

Led by faculty members Andy Ogden, Krystina Castella, Nathan Allen, Pascual Wawoe, Stan Kong, James Chu, Dice Yamaguchi, and guest lecturer Greg Marting of Giro Helmets, students will be directed toward creating a sustainable competitive advantage in the industry by showcasing the potential of how the headgear/helmet category might evolve with the advent of wearable computing technologies.

The project’s final deliverable will require the students to pull from the teachings of multiple GradID classes: Visualization, 3D Development, Materials and Methods, and M2 Studio.

Check back soon for project updates!

In the Summer each year 3rd term students in GradID take on 3 projects over the term- each time changing teammates and taking on a strategic challenge in competition with other teams. Each project is typically just 4- 5 weeks long, challenges students to develop a new business model based idea and concludes with side by side presentations and the assumption that only one team will be identified as the most worthy to be awarded a next phase of work.

This summer the 3rd and final project included a new dimension. Joerg Arras, formerly Sales Manager for VISI/ONE GmbH sponsored the project efforts and challenged the Grad ID teams to envision the future of the car shopping and buying experience over the next ten years. In addition to providing funds that would support monetary awards for the winning team Joerg generously shared his time and energy, interacting with the students and providing feedback, as they developed their ideas. On Thursday August 16th the teams presented their Ideas to Joerg and department faculty ….and after great deliberation they selected a winner.

Congratulations to the winning presenters:

Team: LADS:
Anastasia Hanan
Leslie Oliver Karpas
David Day Lee
Simon Tien

Each of the students in the M3 class also cast their vote for the peer that they felt was worthy of being recognized for “best performance” as a designer and teammate over the term.

By popular vote, the winner of “best performance” was David Day Lee

Congratulations to everyone for all of the hard work and a great term of learning.

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