Ontario Tech University’s Advanced Digital Design, Manufacturing, and Metrology Laboratories (AD2MLabs) have won the prestigious Professional Engineers Ontario (PEO) (York Chapter) Engineering Research Project of the Year award for its work on Project Arrow. The award recognizes the remarkable technical achievements of the AD2MLabs team in developing the design prototype for the first Canadian zero-emission electric vehicle.
Directed by Dr. Ahmad Barari, Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science, the AD2MLabs team collaborated closely on Project Arrow with Ontario Tech university’s Automotive Centre Excellence (ACE) Core Research Facility. The AD2MLabs team deployed emerging automotive engineering technologies while developing the vehicle, such as digitalization in design, manufacturing, and inspection, multi-physics simulations, and additive manufacturing.
AD2MLabs was specifically recognized by PEO for its ‘Digitalization, Packaging and Structural Design of Project Arrow’, exemplifying the innovative spirit and technical prowess of Ontario Tech’s engineering community.
About the development of Project Arrow at Ontario Tech
The Project Arrow mission to develop Canada's first zero-emission electric vehicle grew from initial supplier meetings focusing on part design and fabrication, through to a full vehicle build on-site in the ACE Climatic Wind Tunnel at Ontario Tech. Unlike traditional assembly line production for a vehicle, every design and fabrication detail of the Arrow was meticulously completed on campus by a team of experts and future talent from Ontario Tech’s engineering programs. The group worked in collaboration with the Automotive Parts Manufacturers' Association (APMA) and numerous industry leaders, startups, and large Tier-1 automotive industry suppliers across Canada.
Meet the Ontario Tech participants
Dr. Mohsen Tayefeh, FEAS Research Associate and Industrial Engineering Supervisor at Ontario Tech, led the Project Arrow team in developing an advanced level of multi-physics simulation in engineering design digitalization. This contribution was critical in enhancing the project's technical precision and efficiency.
FEAS PhD candidates Dylan Bender and Yasaman Farahnak Majd developed a novel methodology for digital surface reconstruction and reverse engineering (the process of disassembling and analyzing the components and systems of a vehicle to understand its design, functionality, and manufacturing processes). Their work enabled the precise digital replication of complex surfaces.
Fraser Mann, a manufacturing engineering program graduate, conducted a full-body digitalization and structure tolerance analysis. Mann’s work ensured the digital models were accurate and robust, meeting the stringent requirements of zero-emission vehicle design.
Leadership and support from ACE included major contributions from Paula Ambra, ACE’s Ontario Vehicle Innovation Network Project Manager, and John Komar, Executive Director, ACE, who provided their expertise in advanced design and testing environments.
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“One of the most remarkable aspects of this achievement is the teamwork our students and faculty demonstrated. The combined effort between our brilliant students and dedicated faculty members has been a driving force behind this award and many of our other successes.”
-Dr. Hossam Kishawy, Dean and Professor, Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science
