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The question engine (and other component) manufacturers ask isn't "to test or not to test?" as they develop new models. Instead, it's "Who should do the testing?"

Engineers have long verified their designs by creating prototypes and testing them thoroughly. The trouble is, testing equipment is expensive. The equipment necessary to accurately measure engine emissions for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and European environmental counterparts is especially costly. So in this age of more stringent emissions regulations, engine OEMs often contract with independent labs to do the testing for them.

"Engine and component manufacturers appreciate the quick response and independent/unbiased data a third-party test lab like ours provides," Dean Schoppe, senior project engineer at Intertek Automotive Research, says. "This is especially true if the OEM lacks internal testing capacity."

Credibility is key

For the Scuderi Group, a small entrepreneurial research firm that proliferates intellectual property through licensing, "It's extremely important to work with a third-party test lab because it means credibility," Stephen Scuderi, vice president, explains. "It's the only way for us to be able to approach a large OEM. We don't intend to manufacture engines. All we do is develop proof-of-concept prototypes and go to large OEMs that will hopefully license our technology and develop actual production prototypes."

This is the group's first engine project, so it looked for a test lab that could provide all the independent data that a large OEM would want. "Without it, everything we would give them would be viewed as suspect," he says.

"The independent lab that we use has a great deal of expertise in development of engine technology, so in addition to credibility, it adds a great deal of development expertise," Scuderi points out. "That's an enormous advantage. We provide all the funding, manage the program and market the concepts. We harvest the intellectual property and file it around the world. Our lab, however, aside from the inventor's idea, has the primary responsibility of solving all the technical challenges to get us a working prototype. So there is great value from the lab providing technical expertise."

Another important value-added benefit the Scuderi Group appreciates in the third-party lab is "when we pay the lab, we own all the intellectual property," he adds. "We don't have to negotiate as to who owns what; there's no question. This was a very big draw for us."

The same, but different

The Scuderi Group has followed the typical development cycle that any large OEM would follow. "All start with the basic concept and struggle through to the proof-of-concept prototype," Scuderi says. "That usually involves a flexible laboratory engine to prove the basic concept benefits. In our case, it's the combustion process. From there, you go to production prototype, one that would fit into a vehicle. What's not typical is that we're a small entrepreneur — this is usually the big boys' regime."

He adds, "Our lab has proposals from small independent entrepreneurs about monthly and has done hundreds of initial evaluations, but we are the only one that has gotten this far. We will have our prototype up and running by third quarter 2008. We started working with them on the paper process in 2002."

The Scuderi Group intends to build several prototypes. "The first will be a basic, conventional configuration," he says. "The second, in a 2009 time frame, will be our air-hybrid. We're very confident that it will have a major impact on the market."