Concept models created by University of Wales Trinity Saint David’s (UWTSD) Automotive Design students and alumni were exhibited at the prestigious Best of Belron International Conference and Exhibition held in Barcelona’s FIRA conference centre.
Current BA Automotive and Transport Design student Christian White and alumni Francesco Galimberti and Gary Peterson displayed work at the conference, which was attended by over 1600 delegates from the automotive manufacturing and service sectors. Belron is the world’s largest automotive glass repair and replacement company, and has supported UWTSD’s applied automotive research for over thirty years.
Belron’s Head of Technical Research & Innovation, Dr Chris Davies, is a Professor of Practice at UWTSD and commented: “Belron has always valued its partnership with UWTSD and the expertise of the University’s staff and students in automotive technology, which has delivered so much in terms of insight and knowledge over the years.
“The student models were invaluable in highlighting how vehicle technology, such as advanced driver assistance systems, will evolve over time and how that will impact on repair and maintenance in the future.
“The research and innovation stand where the models were displayed was extremely popular with our global fleet and insurance customers, the operating businesses and the shareholders.”
Dr Gwen Daniel, Head of Recalibration Research & Coverage at Belron, said “We identified a requirement for conceptual scale models that could illustrate the revolution in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), such as collision detection sensors – which are increasingly common in today’s vehicles – and demand careful calibration when windscreens are replaced. The quarter scale models from UWTSD were ideal in promoting these concepts.”
The student work was organised by Sergio Fontanarosa, Programme Manager for BA Automotive and Transport Design, and Professor Kelvin Donne, Professorial Fellow at UWTSD. Donne says: “This was one of the largest international conferences I’ve attended, and I saw considerable interest in our exhibits on the Research & Innovation stand from senior automotive engineers from across the World.”
Fontanarosa adds: “To have the University and the work of these three talented students and graduates selected by Belron – the world’s largest automotive glass repair & replacement company – for its Research & Innovation stand is a real honour. What a great opportunity for them and the programme as a whole to get international exposure. Many thanks for the opportunity.”
