For its third consecutive year, ‘The MAIN Event’ successfully kicked off the North American International Auto Show, on January 13 at historic Orchestra Hall, Detroit.  Dassault Systèmes (3DS) and its Transportation & Mobility / CATIA team members were featured prominently.  Unlike other industry events, MAIN not only celebrates industry executive excellence, but also rewards the ‘next generation’ of industry leaders via vehicle development competition and $100,000 in Ford Motor Company sponsored scholarships.

Highlight of the invitation-only event was multi-industry innovator, Elon Musk, CEO Tesla Motors & SPACEX, who accepted the award for ‘Industry Executive of the Year’ (see below).  ‘Industry Innovator of the Year’ went to Moray Callum, Ford’s Executive Director of Design, for his team’s many achievements in global vehicle platform development.

Dassault Systèmes, as charter sponsor, was well represented at this industry celebration.  Andre Clemons, well-known industry designer from the 3DS industrial design team, presented the 3DS ‘Next Generation of Industry Innovation’ nominees and award winner (see below).  Phil Borchard, from the 3DS North American sales team, presented strategic industry developments and our 3DEXPERIENCE solutions for the Transportation & Mobility industry.  And Paul Silver, from 3DS Transportation & Mobility Global Industry Marketing, served as both host and program manager for the popular event.

Previous MAIN Event industry award winners have included such executive luminaries as Peter Horbury, Vice-President of Volvo Design, Bob Lutz, former Vice-Chairman of General Motors, and student-turned-Ford-designer Jason Falenski, awarded for his innovation on the ‘Ford Sidewinder’ developed with 3DS solutions.

MAIN Event host/chairman Paul Silver, 3DS Global T&M Industry team, and Keith Nagara, Director of MAIN & Transportation Design at LTU, introduce Elon Musk, CEO Tesla Motors and SPACEX, as ‘Industry Executive of the Year’ (Tesla Model S is 2013 ‘Motor Trend Car of the Year’, SPACEX launched first successful US commercial rocket to the International Space Station).

FORD 2025 CROSSWINDS (foreground) won Cherise Caldwell of LTU the top 3DS / MAIN award for ‘Next Generation of Industry Innovation’

Andre Clemons, 3DS Industrial Designer, presents 3DS’ ‘Next Generation of Industry Innovation’ Award to Cherise Caldwell of LTU (pictured here with other competition finalists)

Last week I was at the French startup event LeWeb’12 to get some fresh ideas about digital marketing trends on the startup scene. The theme of this year was the IoT aka the “Internet of Things”, so you could find many connected devices : smartphones, thermostats, watches, drones, headsets, weight or blood trackers that were all mobile and connected things. So why not connect these geeky devices to more familiar transportation & mobility products? IF WE connect internet and transportation, can it offer innovative and profitable mobility concepts?

I was there in my reflexions when I saw the Renault booth at LeWeb and just decided to chat with them to share ideas. And since I had my smartphone with me, I used it to record this impromptu one shot video, so pardon its low quality.

Getting people back to work thanks to the Mobility community

I met with Florent d’Yvoire, who is project manager on the Renault-MOBILIZ Social Business project to know more about mobility innovation. Our main discussion was about the Renault-MOBILIZ which I found very innovative but not on technology as we usually expect, but more on the business side: This project was born at the Corporate Social Responsibility department of Renault with a vision: looking for sustainable ways to help the poorest benefit from an affordable mobility, so that they can find work and get out of poverty. Beyond that, the innovation is also in the business model that is inspired by the microcredit concept developed by Muhammad Yunus so that it can ensure the financial viability of the project.

In this context the Renault-MOBILIZ program is looking for more connections within the transportation and mobility community of professionals: they are looking for partnerships with entreprises and citizens on providing products, services, and assistance in getting driver’s licenses. Dassault Systèmes can certainly help with its communication to transportation & mobility professionals. More to come on this…

A car-sharing pilot with electric cars

Renault also launched Twizyway, an innovative car-sharing concept in the Paris area with 50 Twizy. These 100% battery-driven cars are beautiful, fun and safe to drive. They are available all day and are tracked and booked via smartphone apps. People use these cars then leave them in the location of their convenience to ensure maximum flexibility for drivers. Customers just scan a QR Code on the windshield and go. So this is quite similar to the Autolib project deployed near there in Paris, but with less constraints at first glance.

Digital apps on the dashboard of your car

The final topic presented by Renault was the second edition of their “call for apps” that will be installed on the dashboard of future cars in a tablet called R-Link. New Zoe and Clio models will benefit from them , Renault was there to call for startups willing to develop new services on their infrastructure.

Renault’s motto is “Drive the change”, now you can see why!  What about you, how would you match internet and transportation yourself? Do you see the digitalization of the world as an opportunity for new mobilities?

Thanks for posting your view in the “comments” field below

Jacques

Jacques Bidault is Industry Marketing Director, Transportation and Mobility at Dassault Systèmes