University of Waterloo students turning heads – and wheels – with latest creation

UW students build their own villainous vehicle An unusual vehicle has been spotted at the University of Waterloo. Hannah Schmidt finds out what inspired students to build the Grumobile.

A group of University of Waterloo students put their engineering skills to the test whilst creating their latest engineering project.

Inspired by a beloved animated character, from the ‘Despicable Me’ movie franchise, they’ve built a smaller electric version of Gru’s iconic vehicle from scratch.

And they did it in less than a week.

“I think a lot of people ‘Gru up’ with the ‘Despicable Me’ series and it would just seem like a really fun shape,” joked engineering student Anson Yu. “We figured that with a little bit of spray paint and magic, we could make something that could actually look like it.”

The group has taken the vehicle around campus and even to a local drive-thru.

“Designing and building it makes you realize how many features are in an actual functioning car and, yeah, a lot of respect for those engineers,” Yu said laughing. “I think there's a lot of people building very serious things, especially at this university, and I think there's always room to have a little bit of fun with this. I think there's a shortage of that.”

The project took just four days from concept to completion. The team used lightweight materials and an electric motor to power what they are calling the Grumobile.

“It really did feel like a four-day-long F1 stop,” said Yu. “The wheels can only support like 130 pounds individually. Initially, we had started off with… let's make it out of wood, but then realized that it wouldn't sustain the stress that we would put on it. So we switched to metal… and then we ended up doing the outer frame out of plastic.”

The Grumobile has become a campus sensation, with students sharing photos and videos across social media.

“It's like having a little bottle of energy, like when you're driving it on the street, it feels like you're a smile machine and then you drive by and everybody's turning their head,” Yu said.

“I was so blown away in terms of their passion, their hard work, their fun-loving nature,” explained Mary Wells, dean of the faculty of engineering at the University of Waterloo. “They need to bring their creativity; they need to solve problems in real time. And these are real engineering problems. It's a wonderful way to learn. And I must say, since the pandemic, the desire of our students to engage in more experiential learning has just been increased 100 per cent. We are looking at ways to create those immersive learning experiences.”

So, what is next for the Grumobile?

The students want to take it to community events around the City of Waterloo. They are also hoping to inspire other students to bring their own creativity to campus.

“I think that if people can internalize that feeling that it doesn't matter who you are, what your background is – you can make it,” said Yu.