There was a time when the term Human Powered Vehicle meant a bicycle.

Today it can mean anything from a bicycle rickshaw to a hand-propelled wheel chair. Besides being the most cost-efficient form of transportation, its the greenest and can be used almost anywhere around the globe. As the world struggles to break free of its addiction to fossil fuel, Human Powered Vehicles are becoming more and more attractive. Corporations and universities around the globe are funding programs and hosting Human Powered Vehicle Challenges to showcase the results. The ASME Human Powered Vehicle Challenge (HPVC) was created to provide an opportunity for engineering students to demonstrate the application of sound engineering design principles while developing efficient, sustainable and practical human propelled machines. Many universities allow their seniors to use this project as their capstone. Founded in 1983, the ASME HPVC is in its 29th year of engaging students in practical team-oriented technical development. The competition has historically included a design event, a sprint or drag race, a utility endurance event and a speed endurance event. As the competition has evolved over the years the practicality aspect of the challenge has become a bigger focus. Its no longer enough to go fast. Now you have to be able to stop and pick up the groceries and dry cleaning adept your design to serve a realistic function. Thus, the upcoming 2012 competition will discontinue the speed endurance event and focus on design and utility. The vehicles are judged on design, safety and performance. The first stage of the competition is the preparation of a comprehensive design report. The second part of the competition involves the performance events held over a weekend where the vehicles compete against one another in the endurance and utility event. Such a structure closely mimics a process implemented in a professional environment. Entry in the HPVC is open to teams from any school with an engineering program. However, all team members must be enrolled as full-time students in an engineering program or have recently graduated from one. There are no restrictions on the number of team members but theres one stipulation: there must be at least one female team member this is to help promote diversity and encourage women to join a male dominated competition. HPVC participants gain a range of skills that can benefit each team member in different ways. We asked a few former ASME HPVC members about their experience on an HPVC Team. Heres what they had to say: Antonio Minna a graduate of Ferris State University did not want to join a club just so he would have something to put on his resume. He wanted to be part of a team that actually built something and where he could use his engineering skills. Joining the HPVC team accomplished both of these requirements. In the end, he felt that he became a better team member and developed leadership skills that enabled him to identify his teammates strengths and assign them appropriate tasks. Will Hilgenberg of Cal Poly says that he became an HPVC team member because it combined three of his favorite things; cycling, aerodynamics and speed. When asked what he got from the experience he stated, What I came away with was a practical knowledge of aerodynamic design, an ability to fabricate nearly anything and a lot of confidence in my ability to design and construct almost anything. Would he recommend joining an HPVC team to another student? Absolutely, I can only speak for my team but everyone at Cal Poly SLO works really well together and we have essentially developed into something of a family. Its always great to be there from beginning to end to see what you and your friends have created. Some people come to HPVC via other Human Powered Vehicles. Victor Ragusila of the University of Toronto joined his HPVC Team after completing the flight trials for an Ornithopter, an aircraft that flies by flapping its wings. He discovered that the ASME HPVC was an interesting blend of engineering design, manufacturing and athletics. He felt that the racing aspect of the competition brought it all together, requiring not only a good machine and a fit rider but also a good strategy and training. He commented that While bicycles are very old and very common machines, there is still so much left to understand and experiment with. Wesley Rooney a graduate of San Jose State University was attracted to the HPVC by his long standing interest in all things mechanical. Having been an avid mountain biker, he was particularly interested in the bicycle component. After the competition his team felt, our ability to make good design decisions was drastically improved by this competition because it clearly highlighted how important it is to have hands-on fabrication experience. We also got a lot better at working within a tight budget and gained a healthy respect for how important it is to account for as many details as possible. Real world problems are almost never as clear cut and nicely structured as the textbook examples and I think we became far better engineers overall by learning how to use these theoretical skills on an actual project. Many of the former HPVC participants we spoke to credit the HPVC for getting them their first jobs out of college. Antonio Minna was told by Continental Automotive that the main reason his resume was pulled was because of his role on the HPVC team. They were interested in the HPVC because it involved designing and building a vehicle with very specific parameters. After graduating Antonio was offered an internship with Continental Automotive and was recently hired as a vehicle test engineer in the chassis and safety division.

Wesley Rooney believes that he got a job right after graduation in the specific industry he was interested in as a direct result of his participation in the HPVC. After graduation, Wesley was offered a job with Calfee Design, a world renowned builder of carbon composite and environmentally friendly bamboo bicycles With the cost of gasoline prices climbing, the U.S. and everyone else have been actively looking for alternative transportation solutions. Although its true that we have Hybrid, Electric and even a car that runs on Wine and Cheese - Human Powered Vehicles are still the cheapest to run. By sponsoring the Human Powered Vehicle Challenge ASME is helping to lead the way in Human Powered Vehicle development.