After winning the CUBE (Challenge Urbain Business Étudiant) trophy and coming second in the SCA France (Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget) Engineering Challenge, second-year engineering students Maurice Lubetzki and Martin Millischer have now won the Engineering of the Future Award! Their new project involves transforming drones into traffic controllers.
"In the near future, numerous drones will occupy our urban landscapes."
The American company Amazon has come up with a plan to deliver its packages using drones. Inspired by this trend, Maurice and Martin explored the different uses of drones, asking themselves the following question: Why not consider drones as a tool that can serve the community?
The team therefore came up with drones that could inform drivers about actual traffic conditions. Drivers would adapt their driving based on the information provided via a screen on the drone. The drone could, for example, guide cars to another exit in the event of an accident. This would make road traffic flow more smoothly.
As nominees for the Engineering of the Future Award, the duo has just won the audience award thanks to the votes they received over the past few weeks. They will receive a check for €1,000 and will also have the opportunity to carry out a video with professionals to present their project. This video will then be broadcast on the CMEtv website , giving them visibility with 150,000 views per day!
"Our training teaches us how to manage projects."
The students tell us thatArts et Métiers an asset in managing this project. They have incorporated a methodology into the thought process. According to Martin, the program is an excellent way to acquire the technical, scientific, and organizational skills essential to the successful completion of a project. It was Giovanni Radilla, their former director when they were on the Châlons-en-Champagne campus, who suggested they participate in the Engineering of the Future Award.
School also allowed them to form a strong friendship. According to Maurice: " Mutual support is our driving force and thanks to it we surpass ourselves [...] our friendship gives us the courage and desire to take on every challenge."
For the Engineering of the Future Award, the pair of engineering students wanted to combine their skills and thus develop "cross-cultural competence." That's why they called on Constance de Grandcourt, who is currently studying at ESCE (École Supérieure du Commerce Extérieur). She is handling the legal and commercial aspects of the project, while Maurice and Martin are taking a more technical approach. Dividing up the tasks was necessary and strategic in order to bring the project to fruition. "Constance brings a fresh perspective to the subject," they add.
What next?
Like all good entrepreneurs, the students conducted a strategic analysis prior to launching their project. They met with companies such as Airbus Helicopters, thereby building up a solid knowledge base on the subject of drones.
After the competition, Martin and Maurice would like to present this project to the École Arts et Métiers next CrAMfunding campaign Arts et Métiers "We believe it fits perfectly into the category of innovative projects for our cities of the future."
photo credits: © Sarah Bastin
