Nowadays, we all aware that a laptop has gradually becoming an essential stuff to anyone who wishes to communicate to the outside world instantly and directly. As we born in this technological world, we should have known that a computer isn’t only allows us to communicate with friends, but it helps to accomplish your work in more convenient way, but human always not satisfy on what is existing, they always looking for a better option. Therefore the birth of laptop has appeared in 1986, by a gang of hardworking, innovative engineers!
We should thank to this man- Tetsuya Mizuguchi, an ingenious, brilliant engineer he is the one who first brought this idea to the world. The elicitation of “portable computer” idea from Tetsuya Mizuguchi is due to the limited of office space, and the willingness of the Japanese to work at home. The most estimable part should mention here is that such innovative idea had actually banned by the top executives of his company Toshiba twice, due to the recent huge losses in the marketplace with its personal computer, and had decided to get out of the computer business. In such circumstances, he still managed to persevere his own faith. He then went "underground" with the laptop project with his group of 10 engineers which are also working in Toshiba Company. After day and night of twenty-fourth months’ working, a prototype was created after a dozen of difficulties were eliminated.
Finally, in 1985, Mizoguchi triumphantly presented his laptop at Toshiba. But they were facing another issue on the challenge in selling of the new product. He was able to resolve the problem once again by the supporting of Atsutoshi Nishida, senior vice president of Toshiba Europe, who was enthusiastic about the new product. In a very short fourteen months, the first ten thousand laptop had been sold! In is a very impressive result in the market of that time, since the company just had huge losses on their personal computer.
Production of laptops is then tremendously increased from 5,000 units per month in 1986 to 100,000 in 1989 (Abetti, 1997). Tetsuya Mizoguchi was promoted to the Toshiba board of directors in 1996, and Nishida was moved into a top corporate position.
In the conclusion, what we can learn from this article is the “3B” main keys of being a successful engineer : be more innovative, be more alertly on the current need of human, be more daring to dream of your dreams!!
by Eric Tan
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Sunday, September 27, 2009
E-Portfolio 2
Today, wherever we go we could see the use of a laptop. However, two decades ago a laptop computer would not have made it to the marketplace if not for the perseverance of a Japanese engineer, Tetsuya Mizoguchi.The birth of the Toshiba laptop was never approved by the corporate leaders at Toshiba, instead Mr. Mizoguchi had to go “underground” to further research and make the laptop a reality.
In Japan, the lack of office space made it difficult to have desktop computer to be assigned to each workstation. In addition, the willingness of the Japanese to work at home gave Mr Mizoguchi the idea of a portable personal computer. At first, the engineer approached the heads at Toshiba corporation with his fabulous idea, however, the company just having suffered huge losses in the computer industry had decided to get out of the computer business and hence Mr. Mizoguchi was denied the request for funds to research and develop. This however did not stop him from conquering his goal, instead he diverted funds and shifted engineers from a military project to design the laptop computer secretly. It took the team two years to complete a prototype and they managed to present the laptop to corporate executives only to be denied a second time. The executives argued that “the new product was just a fad that would fill only a small market niche”, and hence Mr. Mizoguchi was ordered not to sell it.
All the frustrating and difficulties periods the team underwent was not put to waste. Mr. Mizoguchi friend, Mr. Nishida , the senior vice president of Toshiba Europe was interested in the product and was enthusiastic on marketing it. Hence, the laptop was sold in the market and it was soon clear that the innovation had a positive reception by the consumers. Toshiba soon had a commanding market share and the laptop went into mass production.
Mr. Mizoguchi determination saw him risk his job and career to make his idea a reality. The continuous disapproval from the corporate leaders made him and his team go “underground” and saw them succeeding in developing the laptop computer.
Saturday, September 26, 2009
E-Portfolio post 2 - Yijie
This reading talks about how a project is created in a “skunk works” environment and then become a successful product that can be found worldwide. “Skunk works” environment usually consists of a small team taken out of their normal working environment and given exceptional freedom from their organisation’s standard management constraints.
This is about the case study that presents the birth, growth, and ultimate success of the major technological and market innovations - the Toshiba laptop computer. It follows the evolution of this corporate venture from initial failures in 1978 to the success of the laptop computer, first in Europe (1986), then in the United States, and finally in Japan. This project was initiated as the market requires a computer that can fit into a small working environment. It was an unexpected success as this project was vetoed twice by the corporate headquarters of Toshiba and driven underground. It took the team two years to come up with the final product.
All this would not have been possible if not for an ingenious champion, Tetsuya Mizoguchi and his team of engineers. It was because of the vision, persistence and efforts of this team of passionate Japanese engineers led by Tetsuya Mizoguchi that a new business was created and is now part of Toshiba's mainstream operations. He led a team of ten engineers, to design, implement and improve the product. It was created after repeated failures from the conventional process - the “skunk works” model of innovation. As of now, the laptop computer has become a significant contributor to the growth and profitability of the corporation.
The three characters mentioned in the reading are Mizoguchi, the product champion and Nishida the marketing champion in Europe. As for general manager Koga, he protected Mizoguchi from interference by the company headquarters. All three employees were promoted after the laptop computer became a success.
This is about the case study that presents the birth, growth, and ultimate success of the major technological and market innovations - the Toshiba laptop computer. It follows the evolution of this corporate venture from initial failures in 1978 to the success of the laptop computer, first in Europe (1986), then in the United States, and finally in Japan. This project was initiated as the market requires a computer that can fit into a small working environment. It was an unexpected success as this project was vetoed twice by the corporate headquarters of Toshiba and driven underground. It took the team two years to come up with the final product.
All this would not have been possible if not for an ingenious champion, Tetsuya Mizoguchi and his team of engineers. It was because of the vision, persistence and efforts of this team of passionate Japanese engineers led by Tetsuya Mizoguchi that a new business was created and is now part of Toshiba's mainstream operations. He led a team of ten engineers, to design, implement and improve the product. It was created after repeated failures from the conventional process - the “skunk works” model of innovation. As of now, the laptop computer has become a significant contributor to the growth and profitability of the corporation.
The three characters mentioned in the reading are Mizoguchi, the product champion and Nishida the marketing champion in Europe. As for general manager Koga, he protected Mizoguchi from interference by the company headquarters. All three employees were promoted after the laptop computer became a success.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Portfolio entry 2
More often than not, people associate inventors with intelligence, vision and determination. However, courage is also important for the birth of new technology or inventions. The article written by E.M. Rogers, “The birth of the laptop computer at Toshiba”, clearly explains how courage and the willingness to take risks can propel advancements in technology.
More than twenty years ago, laptops were radically different from desktops. Nobody knew if laptops were going to be popular or if it was even possible to create computers of a portable size. Tetsuya Mizoguchi, the founder of laptops, had to take high risks when he decided to push on with the laptop project. These risks included losing his career and being charged with the misuse of company funds. Even if he did manage to create a suitable laptop, the market sale of the laptop was another major consideration.
Despite facing all these risks, Mizoguchi had the courage to go against the odds and against his own company. By working in a “skunk works” environment and hiding from corporate view, he finally managed to build a laptop which sold well internationally, thereby helping Toshiba gain a huge market share in the marketplace. However, his main contribution was more important than this. He had paved the way for the introduction of the portable computer which is so useful today. Without laptops, there would be inconvenience for people who need to be on the move often, thus hindering work processes and slowing down the economy.
It was not only intelligence and vision, but also courage which led to one of the most important and useful technology of the millennium.
More than twenty years ago, laptops were radically different from desktops. Nobody knew if laptops were going to be popular or if it was even possible to create computers of a portable size. Tetsuya Mizoguchi, the founder of laptops, had to take high risks when he decided to push on with the laptop project. These risks included losing his career and being charged with the misuse of company funds. Even if he did manage to create a suitable laptop, the market sale of the laptop was another major consideration.
Despite facing all these risks, Mizoguchi had the courage to go against the odds and against his own company. By working in a “skunk works” environment and hiding from corporate view, he finally managed to build a laptop which sold well internationally, thereby helping Toshiba gain a huge market share in the marketplace. However, his main contribution was more important than this. He had paved the way for the introduction of the portable computer which is so useful today. Without laptops, there would be inconvenience for people who need to be on the move often, thus hindering work processes and slowing down the economy.
It was not only intelligence and vision, but also courage which led to one of the most important and useful technology of the millennium.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Eminent Success of Toshiba
Toshiba is a brand name that most people are familiar with. Whether it is regarding personal computers, laptops or household electronics, Toshiba Corporation has made its presence known. In fact, Toshiba Corporation’s standing in the electronics industry is something not to make light of. Even among its strong competitors, Toshiba still holds a strong influence in the ever-evolving industry, leading its peers in the frontier of electronics innovation. The reasons for Toshiba’s success in the immensely competitive market would be its ability to foresee future demands and its flexibility to adapt to unpredictable market changes.
First, Toshiba good foresight of future market is justified by the countless ‘world first’ products the company released. There is the radar (1942), microwave oven (1959), laptop personal computer (1985) and DVD (1995).These are just a few examples of the technology breakthroughs the company has made in the past. Most noteworthy would be the laptop computers, where it gained much market shares for Toshiba Corporation, propelling it to further heights of electronics production.
Second, Toshiba adapts to competition readily without hesitation, making swift decisive actions. For example, the case of format war with Sony Corporation between years 2005 to 2008. There was a fierce competition between the two companies over providing discs formats for greater storage space. Toshiba launched out their High Definition Digital Video Discs (HD DVD), yet only to lose out to Sony’s Blu-Ray Discs’ higher storage capacity. Even so, Toshiba foresee the lost early on and announced the drop of format war on February 19, 2008. Toshiba’s flexibility ensures minimal losses and provides greater grounds for its other expansion.
Moreover, Toshiba diversifies its ranges of products, with specialization in household electronics, cutting-edge technology gadgets and semi-conductors, creating its great economic stability to thrive in the turbulent market. Without a doubt, Toshiba has become Japan leading innovative electronics company with great history and track records years since 1978. Toshiba proudly promoted themselves as the leading innovators, churning out innovative inventions one after another. There is no stopping to Toshiba’s innovative spirit.
BY LOH WEI LONG
Sunday, September 6, 2009
NUS FSAE race car project
On the Friday lecture, there were 3 speakers present, two from the faculty of engineering and one from the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy. I would comment on the last speaker, A/P Seah Kar Heng , who’s presentation on the NUS FSAE race car project was by far the most interesting and appealing to me.
The NUS FSAE race car project started in 2001 and it took the team two years to complete the race car. The team was not able to compete in the races due to lack of funds. According to the professor this project was not given much publicity and hence they did not have enough funds to ship the race car to Michigan, where the events were held. This intervarsity event has about 140 teams and around 3000-4000 spectators are present. The race cars are checked on four different events. A drag race, Skid track, auto cross and finally a 22 kilometer endurance. Each event has 2 drivers and a reserve driver, which brings the total number of drivers to 12 for the event.
Every year the team looks to improve the race car’s design and components one by one. With the car having over 1500 components the engineers do through a tedious task of assembling the vehicle. The car is engineered by students in different year of studies in NUS and the car is assembled on campus. The cycle starts from January where the team conceptualizes the previous year’s car and between May and July the car is designed. In august they begin the fabrication of the parts and in November they stop due to exams. In December they assemble the car and from January they test drive the vehicle and continue to make minor modifications to the vehicle. In April they take a break because of examinations and the vehicle is shipped to the venue of the event.
At first the FSAE race car project seemed to have come to an end. However a batch of students approached the professor and a self funded second car was designed. Though the team came in 120th position the project gained publicity and the following years was funded by the university and sponsors. Since then the NUS FSAE race car project has gained momentum and has been improving throughout the competition that they recorded their first top 20 position last year, coming in 19th overall.
The NUS FSAE race car project had one of the most volatile starts however the determination of the team saw them through the difficult periods of time and every year they enjoy better success.
what drives u ----> dreamSsss...
I would like to pick up prof Marcelo's speach as my topic. In his speech, he was talking about what a basic requirement that become an engineer should equip themself, which is every engineers should have their own dreams, dare to dream, dare to show your "ideas" even a very stupid one. And i totally agree with him!!
A person without a dream or dreams, is considered living without meaning, living is just because of living. Moreover we are the future engineers!!
What is the purpose of life?Do you clear about yours? Many of people live their lives without second thought about what they actually want, and what reflecting on life itself or its meaning for them. They just live blindly,one day follow by another, without ever obtaining any degree of understanding of why they do these things. Their lives have no overall purpose to give meaning to separate events, and they may have no clear idea of their own nature or identity, of who they really are. As an future engineer, do u think about it ever?please start now if you haven't.
Evey engineer should have dreams. Dreams that driving him/her to seek for the real success in the life.
Only dreams can motivate people, for solving difficulties--" Out of difficulties, Makes miracle"!!Engineers are the one leading the world to a place better to live, to a better communication among people, to create innovative stuffs for the need of rapidly changing world.
Be an engineer, you are required to be creative, you are also demanded to be a good "designer". in the sense that, become an engineer now, you have to think more advanced. As prof Marcelo has showed us some slides about some creativity "products" among the world, some are really rediculous ideas, but think throughly, there are quite effective also.Example:A cap that can holds your head when your sleeping inside the MRT, without touching others' shoulder.A speacially designed "altra Mini car", that allows you to park easily with a limited parking space.An umbrella that can covers your whole body when there is a heavy rain "attacking" you, etc..
I remembered when we looked through all the slides about the creativity of the products i've mentioned above, we are all yocking on the spot. It totally reflected that how rediculous we think the examples are: P
But in fact, there are effective!!As mentioned by prof Marcelo, " why did people think it is funny, rediculous?", "it is because human is just like monkey, monkey sees, monkey do"!! People only accept thing or phenomena that in conventional way. if your the only one who doing that, you will be laughed by others. But if every one is doing that, that's different story. So the second responsible for engineer is " how to make a creative product accepted by the people?" In the design? In the specifications? or other else..? that's be an engineers' should think of it.
Besides, being an enginner has to be constantly irritated. What it mean? We shouldn't accept things so easily and without having a second thought for improvement on the things. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could change something?" This is a very important thought required for being an successful engineer. We need to constantly thinking of what else we could improve from the products. In deed he has given us an example about how does a toothbrush come from to elaborate how important for consistently improvement for engineers.
Furthermore, people are just too easy to accept things especially the simple one. In fact, if we could pause ourself and ponder, we could make a better life!!So how can we start to begin a dream? Like the example showed by prof Marcelo, how does a train can moves? it moves because of the heat generated by burning the firewood.How people could think of buring firewood to generate heat? It is because of all the discovery,
is just easily be found by looking around your daily life!!
As a conclusion, be a successful engineer, we should be two sides/ two views of looking things. in other words, we should have different prospective, to accept and to input ideas. A challenging is it a problem to us?or an opportunity to us? All started from your dreams!!
By Eric Tan
A person without a dream or dreams, is considered living without meaning, living is just because of living. Moreover we are the future engineers!!
What is the purpose of life?Do you clear about yours? Many of people live their lives without second thought about what they actually want, and what reflecting on life itself or its meaning for them. They just live blindly,one day follow by another, without ever obtaining any degree of understanding of why they do these things. Their lives have no overall purpose to give meaning to separate events, and they may have no clear idea of their own nature or identity, of who they really are. As an future engineer, do u think about it ever?please start now if you haven't.
Evey engineer should have dreams. Dreams that driving him/her to seek for the real success in the life.
Only dreams can motivate people, for solving difficulties--" Out of difficulties, Makes miracle"!!Engineers are the one leading the world to a place better to live, to a better communication among people, to create innovative stuffs for the need of rapidly changing world.
Be an engineer, you are required to be creative, you are also demanded to be a good "designer". in the sense that, become an engineer now, you have to think more advanced. As prof Marcelo has showed us some slides about some creativity "products" among the world, some are really rediculous ideas, but think throughly, there are quite effective also.Example:A cap that can holds your head when your sleeping inside the MRT, without touching others' shoulder.A speacially designed "altra Mini car", that allows you to park easily with a limited parking space.An umbrella that can covers your whole body when there is a heavy rain "attacking" you, etc..
I remembered when we looked through all the slides about the creativity of the products i've mentioned above, we are all yocking on the spot. It totally reflected that how rediculous we think the examples are: P
But in fact, there are effective!!As mentioned by prof Marcelo, " why did people think it is funny, rediculous?", "it is because human is just like monkey, monkey sees, monkey do"!! People only accept thing or phenomena that in conventional way. if your the only one who doing that, you will be laughed by others. But if every one is doing that, that's different story. So the second responsible for engineer is " how to make a creative product accepted by the people?" In the design? In the specifications? or other else..? that's be an engineers' should think of it.
Besides, being an enginner has to be constantly irritated. What it mean? We shouldn't accept things so easily and without having a second thought for improvement on the things. "Wouldn't it be nice if we could change something?" This is a very important thought required for being an successful engineer. We need to constantly thinking of what else we could improve from the products. In deed he has given us an example about how does a toothbrush come from to elaborate how important for consistently improvement for engineers.
Furthermore, people are just too easy to accept things especially the simple one. In fact, if we could pause ourself and ponder, we could make a better life!!So how can we start to begin a dream? Like the example showed by prof Marcelo, how does a train can moves? it moves because of the heat generated by burning the firewood.How people could think of buring firewood to generate heat? It is because of all the discovery,
is just easily be found by looking around your daily life!!
As a conclusion, be a successful engineer, we should be two sides/ two views of looking things. in other words, we should have different prospective, to accept and to input ideas. A challenging is it a problem to us?or an opportunity to us? All started from your dreams!!
By Eric Tan
Saturday, September 5, 2009
E-Portfolio post 1 - Yijie
Creativity and innovation are of key importance for the social well-being. It plays an important role due to many reasons and is a major source of innovative ideas. And it is the concept that is the essence of an invention, and how this concept succeeds in creating change is what the essence of innovation is. This is the difference between invention and innovation. But in order to be an innovation, it needs to engage people and make some change to their lives. This is where technology and engineers come into the picture.
Technology and engineering translate scientific knowledge into action. Engineering technology is the application of engineering principles and modern technology to help solve or prevent technical problems. The engineer is a developer of technological innovations. As such, engineers can employ the scientific knowledge developed by scientists in planning, designing, and constructing technical devices and systems.
We are living in a world of problems. Therefore, we want to make the world a place better to live in and at the same time enjoy life with the help of technology and innovative products to improve our lives. There are many good ideas waiting to be discovered and to be a product. One example cited during the presentation was the handphone. It has become part of our live so much so that one cannot imagine living without it.
However, not all inventions are perfect. There are a number of reasons why creative ideas fail to become innovations. Sometimes it is because the idea, which seems brilliant in concept, but is flawed in application. Another example discussed was the sleepstand. It is a waste of creative time, energy and money does no one any good but makes the world a more boring place.
In conclusion, I feel that technology cannot solve all problems, but believe that it plays a major role.
Technology and engineering translate scientific knowledge into action. Engineering technology is the application of engineering principles and modern technology to help solve or prevent technical problems. The engineer is a developer of technological innovations. As such, engineers can employ the scientific knowledge developed by scientists in planning, designing, and constructing technical devices and systems.
We are living in a world of problems. Therefore, we want to make the world a place better to live in and at the same time enjoy life with the help of technology and innovative products to improve our lives. There are many good ideas waiting to be discovered and to be a product. One example cited during the presentation was the handphone. It has become part of our live so much so that one cannot imagine living without it.
However, not all inventions are perfect. There are a number of reasons why creative ideas fail to become innovations. Sometimes it is because the idea, which seems brilliant in concept, but is flawed in application. Another example discussed was the sleepstand. It is a waste of creative time, energy and money does no one any good but makes the world a more boring place.
In conclusion, I feel that technology cannot solve all problems, but believe that it plays a major role.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Singapore F1's Future
On the 28th August 2009, Assoc Prof Seah Kar Heng gave an informative introduction on the NUS FSAE (Formula Society of Automotive Engineering). It was intriguing to me as I was reminded of the Formula One industry in Singapore.
The history of F1 in Singapore goes back to as far as the 1960s. After Singapore gain independence in 1965, the only race track at Thomson road was named the Singapore Grand Prix. The event was dropped in1973 for various reasons including traffic congestion and safety issues. It was a mistake made. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew admitted in 2005 that it was a ‘stupid decision’ to reject F1 back in the past. After which, the Ministry of Trade and Industry actively bid for hosting rights with the government full frontal support. Singapore finally made history by hosting F1 first night race in 2008.
Since then, Formula One has created the intended ‘buzz’, allowing Singapore to host a regular world class event, boosting the country’s reputation as an exciting global city.
However, much controversy has marred the image of Grand Prix Singapore. Projected economic earnings was said to be exaggerated. Singapore government pumped in about $100million hoping that F1would increase tourism and sales. The result was that retail sales for September 2008, the month that the race was held, dropped by 0.8 percent.
Furthermore, for this year night race, poor ticket sales were reported. The hype on F1 has died down and people seem to be less enthusiastic about it. Analysts pointed out the poor economy as the contributing factor. But is it really the case?
Additionally, global F1 industries are in mayhem. High profile teams such as Renault, Ferrari, Red Bulls and Toyota are intending to pull out of F1 racing in protest of a budget cap in 2010. F1’s governing body, Federation International Automobile (FIA) are investigating Renault for deliberate crashing in Singapore GP 2008. Indeed, there are no ends to the troubles.
Currently, all the recent events in the F1 scenes have placed Singapore Grand Prix’s future in a perilous position. Fortunately, NUS FSAE has been progressing smoothly over the years unlike its predecessors.
BY LOH WEI LONG
The history of F1 in Singapore goes back to as far as the 1960s. After Singapore gain independence in 1965, the only race track at Thomson road was named the Singapore Grand Prix. The event was dropped in1973 for various reasons including traffic congestion and safety issues. It was a mistake made. Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew admitted in 2005 that it was a ‘stupid decision’ to reject F1 back in the past. After which, the Ministry of Trade and Industry actively bid for hosting rights with the government full frontal support. Singapore finally made history by hosting F1 first night race in 2008.
Since then, Formula One has created the intended ‘buzz’, allowing Singapore to host a regular world class event, boosting the country’s reputation as an exciting global city.
However, much controversy has marred the image of Grand Prix Singapore. Projected economic earnings was said to be exaggerated. Singapore government pumped in about $100million hoping that F1would increase tourism and sales. The result was that retail sales for September 2008, the month that the race was held, dropped by 0.8 percent.
Furthermore, for this year night race, poor ticket sales were reported. The hype on F1 has died down and people seem to be less enthusiastic about it. Analysts pointed out the poor economy as the contributing factor. But is it really the case?
Additionally, global F1 industries are in mayhem. High profile teams such as Renault, Ferrari, Red Bulls and Toyota are intending to pull out of F1 racing in protest of a budget cap in 2010. F1’s governing body, Federation International Automobile (FIA) are investigating Renault for deliberate crashing in Singapore GP 2008. Indeed, there are no ends to the troubles.
Currently, all the recent events in the F1 scenes have placed Singapore Grand Prix’s future in a perilous position. Fortunately, NUS FSAE has been progressing smoothly over the years unlike its predecessors.
BY LOH WEI LONG
Portfolio Entry 1 by Ivan
The NUS FSAE team was established in 2001 and had produced remarkable results to date. Recently in May, they were ranked 19th out of 119 participating teams in the FSAE competition held in Michigan, USA. Although being ranked 19th seems trivial compared to the top 3 positions, it is an extremely good result for the NUS FSAE team as they are competing against top universities from the U.S and some European countries. These international schools have much more experience than the NUS team.
Furthermore, considering the roots of the NUS FSAE team and the obstacles they encountered, an overall position under 20 is a major achievement for them. The NUS FSAE was started by Associate Professor Seah and a group of enterprising year 3 Mechanical Engineering students. The most intriguing fact is that they had no sponsors, no external help and no prior experience. In other words, the NUS FSAE team started with nothing and yet managed to produce a car suitable for racing in the second year. In 2003, their very first car performed better than everyone expected, obtaining a ranking under 60. This result surprised many and it also attracted sponsors to the NUS FSAE project.
Other problems faced by the NUS FSAE team were their lack of resources in terms of materials, manpower and venues for racing. The team had to purchase materials from overseas and these materials often arrived later than scheduled. Besides this, they also faced a shortage of drivers and even had to pick their drivers from their own pool of team members. There were also no suitable venues for the drivers to practice racing in Singapore. The only practice they could get was when they flew over to Michigan, USA, for the competition itself.
Nevertheless, the NUS FSAE team faced these obstacles bravely and persevered through the first few years. With their determination and steadily improving skills, the NUS FSAE team finally achieved respectable results in the recent FSAE competition.
Furthermore, considering the roots of the NUS FSAE team and the obstacles they encountered, an overall position under 20 is a major achievement for them. The NUS FSAE was started by Associate Professor Seah and a group of enterprising year 3 Mechanical Engineering students. The most intriguing fact is that they had no sponsors, no external help and no prior experience. In other words, the NUS FSAE team started with nothing and yet managed to produce a car suitable for racing in the second year. In 2003, their very first car performed better than everyone expected, obtaining a ranking under 60. This result surprised many and it also attracted sponsors to the NUS FSAE project.
Other problems faced by the NUS FSAE team were their lack of resources in terms of materials, manpower and venues for racing. The team had to purchase materials from overseas and these materials often arrived later than scheduled. Besides this, they also faced a shortage of drivers and even had to pick their drivers from their own pool of team members. There were also no suitable venues for the drivers to practice racing in Singapore. The only practice they could get was when they flew over to Michigan, USA, for the competition itself.
Nevertheless, the NUS FSAE team faced these obstacles bravely and persevered through the first few years. With their determination and steadily improving skills, the NUS FSAE team finally achieved respectable results in the recent FSAE competition.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
deadline for posting
hi ivan i think shld be by end of this week, if i am not mistaken.
jst too much of homework , eat also no time, sleep oso less......hai....Uni Life ^.^"
By Eric Tan
jst too much of homework , eat also no time, sleep oso less......hai....Uni Life ^.^"
By Eric Tan
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