The mobility industry is undergoing a transformative period, driven by the need for innovation, sustainability, and enhanced user experience. We had an interviewing with Dragan Simic from the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, who is leading the charge in the MINDED project. Dragan’s role as project manager and consortium leader places him at the forefront of advancements aimed at reshaping the mobility sector. Below is our conversation with Dragan, highlighting the challenges, solutions, and the vision behind MINDED.
1. Your Institution
AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
2. Your full name
Dragan SIMIC
3. What is your role in the project?
Project management / consortium leading
4. What are the main challenges the mobility industry is facing?
Improvement of the driving range by e-vehicles; increasing passenger comfort; increasing user acceptances.
5. How is the MINDED project responding to these challenges?
MINDED project is working on innovation – using different technologies and topologies – to improve, in the first line, the passenger comfort of buses and to increase vehicle (bus) driving range in different driving scenarios.
6. What research are you conducting at your institution and how is it applied in the MINDED project?
Development and integration of a novel CO₂ air conditioning system for cooling and an innovative heating system for heating the passenger cabin.
7. How do you collaborate with other partners in the MINDED project to achieve your goals?
Other project partners will support AIT by specification, testing, realization, and integration of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning systems.
8. How is your institution benefiting from participating in the MINDED project?
Increasing our know-how in Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning development.
9. How do you envision the results of MINDED contributing to a more sustainable world?
Developing a climate-friendly Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning system.
10. Looking to the future, what impact do you think the MINDED project will have on the industry and society as a whole?
As the MINDED concept is designed in a modular and flexible way, it can be reused, transferred, and integrated into other vehicle types as well. Considering that other vehicle categories in the bus segments are being developed by IVECO, it is estimated that the innovations of MINDED can be fully integrated into IVECO’s intercity buses and coaches.
11. What do you like to do outside of work? Favourite hobbies or pastimes?
Accordion playing; working on and rebuilding old-timer cars.