Drexel to Demo Human-Electric Vehicle at NYC Summer Streets
August 08, 2008
Philadelphia
What: Drexel University is one of two colleges whose students will get to show American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) representatives and passers-by how their human-electric hybrid vehicle works.
The undergraduate students’ demonstration will come a day after the students ride the vehicle 100-plus miles to New York. It will help kick off NYC Summer Streets, a “greening” initiative to encourage New Yorkers to use sustainable forms of transportation.
Named for Drexel’s dragon mascot and developed by students, the DragonWagon is a low-cost, emissions-free alternative to the automobile designed for use in cities. It utilizes the power of two passengers and an electric motor to accelerate at a speed comparable with traditional vehicles and can maintain a speed of 35 mph. The 10-foot-long vehicle features a manual instantaneous throttle to fire up the motor while riding uphill and after stops.
The DragonWagon was a prizewinner at ASME’s Human Powered Vehicle Challenge East in April.
Visuals:
• Drexel students demonstrating how the DragonWagon combines the power of humans and a motor to create a viable form of urban travel
• Students joining tens of thousands of New Yorkers in a “part bike tour, part block party,” as described by the city’s Department of Transportation
When: Saturday, Aug. 9, from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m.
Where: Drexel students will demonstrate the DragonWagon at 3 Park Ave., at 34th Street
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News media contact: Brian Rossiter, Drexel News Bureau
215-895-2705, 267-228-5599 (cell) or brian.rossiter@drexel.edu
Contact universityrelations@drexel.edu, 215-895-1530