University of Buenos Aires: The team at UBA brings exceptional strength in vehicle diagnostics, networking and sensing. This team will develop the vehicles mostly wireless harness, the CAN backbone and debugging and evaluation systems while working closely with the driver information and entertainment as well as controls teams to seemlessly integrate the Vision's electrical systems.

GroepT University: Based in Leuven, this university is one of only two institutions to currently support more than one VDS team and has also developed the most inter-institution relationships of any VDS partner. Working with Biel University on the design of the electric motor and controller and Tsinghua University on frame design, these teams are responsible for both motion and safety, two central requirements of any mobility device.

Federal Institute of Rio: With extensive expertise in biofuels, the team in Rio will develop the cultivation, synthesis and distribution strategies for ethanol and biodiesel fuels, while also developing a framework for polyculture agriculture and other low-impact feedstock cultivation methods in a range of developing markets. With satelite teams in Africa, India and China the group in Rio will examine the connections between transportation and agriculture as well as potential additional uses for waste-streams such as bio-based fabrics and how to integrate energy cultivation with local economies.

Ecole Polytecnique de Montreal: Working closely with the team from Rio, the Canadian team will develop an auxiliary power unit for the Vision that runs on ethanol. With particular expertise in cold weather starts, this team aims to optimize the engine for use in our series hybrid configuration and to develop strategies to filter all pollutants coming out of the exhaust pipe to minimize impacts on air quality and public health.

Hunan University: Our newest Chinese team, the group at Hunan University, will leverage their extensive capabilities in vehicle styling and aerodynamics, design and optimization, CAE theory and application, vehicle safety and human body injury biomechanics and materials / manufacturing of composite bodies to lead the rapid prototyping of the Vision 200's body design with later emphasis on production strategies in China and India.

Tsinghua University: Bringing a 96 year legacy of excellence to VDS, the team from Beijing will work closely with their counterparts at GroepT in Belgium to develop the Vision's integrated frame. This team will also be responsible for materials tuning and an analysis to determine whether a space frame or monocoque design would provide superior performance, safety, ease of maintenance and overall life cycle impact.

Imperial College London: As one of the closest international teams to MIT, the team from Imperial will work with the systems architecture and engineering groups to provide unbiased, model derived assessments of how contingencies between various technical groups will influence design. With the deliverable of a parametric model that provides insight into how the electrical, physical and design elements of the vehicle interact, this group is responsible for providing a key guide and clear set of assumptions to the global team.

FH Bochum University of Applied Sciences: With core competencies in driver information and entertainment, the group at Bochum has agreed to work with one of the most pivotal educational and emotional characteristics of the vehicle: the user-vehicle interface. With extensive experience in solar car racing, logistics and difficult driving conditions this team is ready and more than able to meet this exceptionally difficult task.

RWTH Aachen University of Technology: While the team from Aachen has yet to identify the specific role they will play within VDS, their deep automotive expertise and impecable German engineering make this team one of the leaders of propulsion and controls within VDS. VDS is grateful to the MIT-Germany program for assisting in the development of this relationship.

Delhi College of Engineering: After developing the first hybrid in India named Fledge, the team working out of DCE had quite a reputation to uphold and they have elected to achieve this by working with VDS to develop the regenerative braking systems for the vehicle while also contributing heavily to the scenario development for the vehicle in India.

Indian Institute of Science: One of the world's pre-eminent research and teaching centers, India's IISc is a powerhouse of technical insight. With VDS, the CPDM group will lead the development of the ergonomic design for the Vision 200 as well as providing insight into Indian culture and the role mobility plays in daily life.

Indian Institue of Technology, Madras: As one of the very first VDS teams to come on board, the suspension team at IIT Madras is also one of the most adept, far-thinking and compassionate. Paving the way for all other VDS teams, this group has provided invaluable feedback on the inner-workings of VS while elegantly handling the challenge of vehicle dynamics for a car that will have a curb weight of 500 kg and laden mass possibly twice that.

Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi: Working with the team at DCE, IIT Delhi will develop the wheels and tires for the VDS Vision vehicle, ensuring that rolling resistance is minized, braking capabilities optimized, and materials selection environmentally sound.

RV College of Engineering: The team from Bangalore will work with IISc to develop the ideal ergonomics for the Vision. A particularly critical feature because how the driver and passengers feel will be the primary factor informing their impression of the vehicle's quality and support, this group's work will feature prominently and their work exceptionally valued.

Politecnico di Milano: With two distinct teams, this team university is host to both a pedestrian and passenger safety group and also the service-model and styling team. Working first to identify the ideal initial market for the vision and various interior and exterior features in concert with teams from India and the Netherlands, the scenario group will leverage its expertise in place-specific design and life-cycle assessments as a guide in all engineering work to enable VDS to achieve its goals, provide a user-centric product, and cultivate community where the vehicle is introduced. As these decisions are made, the safety group will optimize the vehicle such that it has minimal negative impact on its surrounding environment and also provides superior safety for the occupant.

Keio University: The team in Japan, while new to VDS and still assessing its most valuable role, is most likely to optimize the hybrid drivetrain, enabling the modular APU setup to integrate seemlessly with the core electric drive and plug-in interface.

Politecnic of Namibia: The manner in which a vehicle creates community or isolates individuals, improves mobility or prompts congestion, is of particular import in developing markets where infrastructure must be respected and land carefully used. With this in mind, the team from Namibia will examin how the Vision platform might support a vehicle tailored for use in Africa while simultaneously examining how the VDS collaboration platform might be leveraged to best support the knowledge economy rapidly developing in Africa.

University of Pretoria: The team from South Africa has accepted two critical aspects of VDS: on-site clean power and raw materials extraction. Looking at solar, wind, geothermal and other clean and distributed power options, as well as how best to optimize the VDS supply chain given the generally materials intensive process of vehicle production, this group provides the core capabilities that enable the Vision to thrive.

Harvard University: The Harvard team is working both on the legal framework for the open-source platform and also the business-case that we hope to result from VDS to make this lesson in global collaboration, technical innovation and social cohesion both teachable and unstoppable.

Princeton University: The team at Princeton is leading the pack to develop VDS within the context of the principles outlines in the text Natural Capitalism: The Next Industrial Revolution by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins and Hunter Lovins. Princeton will also work with a team in India and at MIT to develop a policy roadmap to best leverage the vehicle's introduction in India.