Just in time for the holidays, EcoCAR 2 is proud to launch the registration for the Year One Winter Workshop!
Held during February 1-5, 2012 in Austin, Texas, the Winter Workshop will be the first EcoCAR 2 workshop that will feature judged presentations, including Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL), a Business Plan Update, and Youth Education presentations.
Throughout the workshop, student and advisors will have the opportunity to attend a Welcome Night dinner at Thurman Mansion catered by Salt Lick, an evening event at Maggie Mae’s, and the Sponsor Social Networking and Recruiting event at the historic Driskill Hotel.
So grab your cowboy hat and register for the Year One Winter Workshop! To register, talk to your faculty advisor or team leader for registration details.
On any given day, Vince Sabatini tests the safety of a car’s controllers with a hardware in-the-loop (HIL) simulator, wires flooding in and out of the complex contraption. But the beginnings of his engineering career started with a far simpler tool: a pen.
Vince Sabatini at the SAE Congress Announcement of EcoCAR 2
Vince, a technical support engineer at dSPACE, Inc., wrote the proposal for Embry-Riddle University, his alma mater, to qualify for EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. It was Embry-Riddle’s first ever attempt to become involved with Advanced Vehicle Technology Competitions (AVTC).
For Vince, this proposal – along with his team’s fourth place win in Year One – was one of his greatest EcoCAR accomplishments. Embry-Riddle’s engineering program was only five years old when the team applied, which meant they had to operate with limited resources and experience.
Beyond earning real-world engineering experience from EcoCAR, Vince gained lifelong friends. “Teams in EcoCAR are a family,” he says. To this day, he still stays in touch with many of those he met during the competition. With EcoCAR 2 recently beginning, he offers some advice for new participants.
“Don’t underestimate anyone or anything. Even a task that seems simple can end up becoming very complicated very fast,” Vince says.
But Vince isn’t complaining. He jokes that his post-EcoCAR career offers much better pay with much better hours.
Since EcoCAR, he’s worked for the Greater Long Island Clean Cities Coalition, broadening his communications background and establishing a stronger social media presence for the organization. Today, while working for dSPACE, he spends most of his work days on site at GM’s Milford Proving Ground. He also serves as a dSPACE mentor for the Embry Riddle and University of Washington EcoCAR 2 teams.
Vince is very excited to be involved with EcoCAR 2 for several reasons, including being an AVTC and Embry-Riddle alumnus. But the program’s largest draw for him is the ability to bring dSPACE’s hardware and software to the students.
“Since the biggest benefit of the competition for students is hands-on engineering with industry standard tools and equipment, it is very appropriate that the students will work with dSPACE simulators and rapid prototype controllers. dSPACE has been a leading supplier of simulation tools for over twenty years, and our products are used by all of the major automakers, including General Motors, so it only makes sense that we would sponsor and mentor the next generation of automotive engineers with our equipment,” he said.
Check out the video below to see Vince’s interview about EcoCAR 2 and his explanation of HILs!
The Ohio State University (OSU) EcoCAR team developed an Electric Range Extending Vehicle (EREV) that employs a dedicated E85 engine. Honda donated two identical 1.8L 4-cylinder compressed natural gas (CNG) engines to the team, which the team converted to run on E85 ethanol. E85 has a higher octane rating than gasoline and is one of the approved fuels of the EcoCAR competition. The high octane rating of E85 allows it to run in the compressed natural gas engine, which is built for higher compression ratios that allow the engine to achieve higher efficiencies than a regular gasoline engine. One engine was set up in a dynamometer test cell with the other one in the vehicle. The two identical engines allowed the team to perform development in the dynamometer test cell and in the vehicle simultaneously in order to optimize the efficiency and emissions of the vehicle. Using the OSU-designed control system, the engine reaches peak diesel like efficiencies of 40% and a peak power of 100 kW.
As part of the competition, emissions testing took place at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory (NVFEL) from March 7-14, 2011. However, a mechanical failure of the engine in the dynamometer test cell left the team without a much-needed test platform for engine tuning before emissions testing took place. The test data was needed to calibrate engine software for testing at the EPA.
Thanks to sponsor support from dSPACE and the chosen design architecture for the OSU vehicle, the team was able to quickly set up and perform the required engine testing in the vehicle. The OSU vehicle can couple its engine to the 82-kw Remy front electric machine without connecting the front powertrain to the wheels. The dSPACE ControlDesk software provides the calibration interfaces needed to perform engine tuning tests safely in the vehicle. The team developed an experiment for in-vehicle dynamometer testing in dSPACE’s ControlDesk that allowed the tests to be conducted in the vehicle. ControlDesk even allowed the dynamometer tools from ETAS, Vector, and Woodward that are usually used in the dynamometer test cell to still be connected to the system, thus making the transition to the temporary in-vehicle testing seamless.
In-vehicle engine test setup designed using dSPACE tools
The OSU team was able to ship their vehicle to the EPA facility for emissions testing. The dSPACE ControlDesk dynamometer set-up allowed the team to get back on schedule and fully prepare for emissions testing at the EPA, despite the hardware setback with the dynamometer engine. The dSPACE ControlDesk tool is one of many software tools that helped the team remain on schedule to perform well in the final competition events in June 2011. OSU did so well in Finals that the team earned a 2nd Place Overall Finish!
The Ohio State EcoCAR team would like to say thank you to dSPACE Inc. for all their help throughout the three year EcoCAR competition. The team also focused their “Sponsor Series” on dSPACE Inc., where they interviewed Santhosh Jogi, Director of Engineering at dSPACE about his experience with EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. You can watch the interview below!
Check out this cool new video from EcoCAR Platinum sponsor dSPACE! The clip shows how General Motors, Honda Aircraft, and of course, EcoCAR students use dSPACE’s hardware-in-the-loop systems to design and test advanced technologies.
Two of the major focuses of the EcoCAR Challenge have been Model-Based Design and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) simulation. These techniques allow teams to test everything from failures to fuel economy using a virtual vehicle model. They also help to ensure that a robust, reliable and safe control system makes its way into the car.
Throughout the past semester, several members of the University of Victoria EcoCAR Controls Team worked diligently to improve their HIL system, taking advantage of EcoCAR sponsor dSPACE’s advanced Automotive Simulation Models. The team’s upgraded model accurately represents the real vehicle from the ignition and body roll, right down to the frictional forces between the tires and the road. This work has already paid dividends, allowing the team to accurately test their real-time optimization strategy before making any updates to the vehicle. The new model and preliminary on-road testing also confirmed that UVic’s EcoCAR will be capable of 0-100 km/h (0-60 mph) in about 7.5 seconds, as predicted back in Year One!
Check out the video below to see the UVic team’s model running a 0-100 km/h test on dSPACE MotionDesk Software. Don’t let the default car body in the video fool you, ‘under the hood’ is UVic’s model and just like the real car, it is fast
With the first semester of the third and final year of EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge under their belt, Mississippi State University’s EcoCAR controls team has been hard at work applying what they learned from the Winter Workshop at The Mathworks headquarters in Boston, MA, to their vehicle control systems. Not only has the controls team updated their Hardware-in-the-Loop simulator to match their championship competition vehicle, but will soon begin the optimization process using super-computers.
Super-computing allows for iterative simulations to deterimine how systems and components will behave under varioius conditions (image from http://www.HPC.msstate.edu)
MSU is part of the High Performance Computing Collaboratory. As such, the MSU EcoCAR team is excited to leverage these resources to produce a controller strategy that is optimized for energy management. Thanks to the support of dSPACE and The Mathworks, the MSU controls team will be optimizing using the latest versions of MATLAB® & Simulink®, which will help keep MSU on top of the competition.
“We are very fortunate to have access to some incredible resources here at Mississippi State University, and as a competition team, we are very excited to use super-computing to push the boundaries of our control systems,” said team leader Matt Doude. “We like having a competitive edge, and we like that edge to be sharp.”
As the team moves forward in the competition, they will also be utilizing other cutting-edge technologies, including a four-wheel chassis dynamometer and 3D virtual environment simulations.
At the EcoCAR Year Two awards ceremony in San Diego, three teams were presented with the dSPACE Embedded Success Award for demonstrating the most effective use of dSPACE HIL equipment. The first-place winner of the dSPACE Embedded Success Award was The Ohio State University.
“The Ohio State team exemplified the best attributes sought in how to use HIL simulation effectively, from clear specification-based test development to highly mature and in-depth plant modeling,” said Santhosh Jogi, dSPACE Inc. Engineering Director.
OSU had to create their own engine controls for their chosen vehicle architecture. This required the use of accurate plant models for the internal combustion engine and the integration of the engine controller and the primary supervisory controller with the HIL system.
“Not only did they accomplish these tasks, but also conducted a thorough analysis of fidelity versus efficiency in determining their modeling approach,” Jogi added. “For test development, they followed a methodical approach to define, create and automate testing, and in doing so, developed the ability to regression-test new versions of control strategies effectively and quickly.”
EcoCAR students receiving the dSPACE award
Second and third place honors were presented to Mississippi State University and the University of Victoria.
“Mississippi State had a thorough approach to HIL-based development and testing, one that mimics what is seen in the industry today,” said Jogi. “They successfully used HIL technology to simulate their system, test major control strategies, failure conditions, and even debug and solve issues in the vehicle.”
Jogi said the University of Victoria demonstrated a clear and impressive strategy in using HIL simulation to develop their control systems and test their planned vehicle features and architecture.
“Their plant modeling, test development, and validation of control system function, diagnostics, and integration in Year Two, along with their plans for further simulation fidelity in Year Three, are strong indicators of the forward-looking attitude of this team, which exemplifies the spirit of EcoCAR,” Jogi said.
The winning teams received cash prizes and Floating Network License packs of dSPACE’s ASM Engine, Vehicle Dynamics, Traffic, and Electric Component simulation models.
“The software packages are designed to allow schools to create automotive technology curriculum in the areas of advanced powertrain, chassis and driver assistance using the same tools that OEMs and Tier1s around the world use for developing new products,” said Vivek Moudgal, dSPACE Inc, Sales Director.
Using tools that are preferred by OEMs will help the universities produce engineers ready to work in the automotive industry.
We look forward to seeing what the teams have in store for Year Three!
Time has flown by! The Mississippi State EcoCAR team is finding it hard to believe that their vehicle ships to competition in less than three weeks. The team is making serious progress, but the evidence of the progress changes every day.
On any given day in the last month, the vehicle could be assembled and driving around the team’s parking lot in the morning, and that afternoon it could be six feet off the ground - no engine, no motors, no wheels, no axles, no seats, no dash -basically a shell of a vehicle with hundreds of electrical wires exposed. The MSU team has two team members that are becoming experts at installing and removing a 1.3L diesel from their EcoCAR.
Despite minor set-backs, the team has met several goals in the last few weeks. The battery pack is installed and meets clearance, fuel, brake, coolant, and HV lines have been routed safely and to code, and additional communication has been added and validated between the Mototron and dSPACE controllers.
This past weekend, the team’s engine finally arrived and is up and running! The students made great progress with the engine and are excited to load their vehicle on the transporter and send it to Yuma!
Check out the video below for an update from the team from inside their garage!
We are pleased to announce four new award opportunities made possible by EcoCAR Platinum Sponsors dSPACE, National Instruments, MathWorks and Freescale Semiconductor! The awards are designed to showcase exceptional ways the EcoCAR teams use the sponsors’ technologies, and as a result, successfully advance in the competition. Here’s an overview of the new awards:
dSPACE Embedded Success Award. The award will be granted to the teams that have effectively utilized dSPACE Hardware-in-the-Loop technology for controls/diagnostics development and validation in preparation for the Year Two vehicle testing.
National Instruments Most Innovative Use of Graphical System Design Award. The award will be given to the team that demonstrates the most innovative use of National Instruments tools during the vehicle development cycle.
MathWorks Modeling Award. The award will be granted to the top three teams that best apply the core concepts of Model-Based Design with the MathWorks tools to help achieve the overall competition objectives.
Freescale Semiconductor Innovation Award. The award will be granted to the team with the most innovative use of controls and electronics to give its EcoCAR a competitive advantage.
The teams must notify the competition organizers by April 30, 2010 if they wish to participate. Only a couple weeks left to showcase how your EcoCAR team stands out from the pack! Check back for the winner’s listing in May.
After a great finish in last year’s competition, Ohio State continues to lead the Hardware in the Loop (HIL) development in Year 2 with a first place finish in the HIL Evaluation event that took place at the EcoCAR Winter Workshop in January! This presentation was a technical demonstration of the team’s continued development with its HIL setup.
HIL enables OSU to develop its vehicle much faster and with less software development required once the vehicle is put together. This is because HIL allows the team to develop and test its software in parallel with its physical vehicle integration. In fact, they think using HIL methodology for vehicle development is so effective that they teamed up with EcoCAR and their HIL sponsor, dSPACE, to film a video about it.
John Kruckenberg, OSU's controls team leader, sitting next to the team's HIL set up
The OSU video discusses the control challenges of developing a vehicle and illustrates the state-of-the-art hardware and techniques the team uses to solve engineering problems. The team explains its progression from mathematical models to lab-based tests with HIL, then to in-vehicle testing of its vehicle software, and finally taking its vehicle results back to the HIL bench for continued improvement. The video also highlights the team’s use of HIL for failure simulation, since testing for faults in a lab-bench environment is much safer than doing all of their fault analysis in the vehicle! Team members discuss their use of automated testing, which allows them to create a standard series of tests for validation of each new software release.
The OSU team would like to thank dSPACE for its sponsorship and support! The team’s success would not be possible without dSPACE’s extensive contributions and dedicated support! Take a look at how OSU takes HIL to the next level in the video below:
Just in time for the holidays, EcoCAR 2 is proud to launch the registration for the Year One Winter Workshop!
