MAGAZINE
ISSUE 2, 2018
REVOLVE
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14 28 38 Editor-in-Chief & Graphic Designer: Martin Berger Marketing Manager: Erik Brettingen Johansen
CONTENT 4
Passions
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Who Is Behind It All?
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Among the Best In the World
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Working with Revolve NTNU
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Writing Your Thesis in Revolve NTNU
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Master Thesis on Vehicle Control Unit
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Rebecca's Internship at Bertel O. Steen
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Testing to Know
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The Accumulator Story
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Evolving Students Into Engineers
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One Step Closer to Perfection
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Why Build an Autonomous Car?
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Eld
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Atmos
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The Revolve NTNU Team 2019
Project Manager: Karoline Halvorsen Website: www.revolve.no
Printed by: Falk Nordic AS
Passions
The Driving Force Text: Martin Berger Photo: Ă˜yvind Ingebrigtsen
Passions lead you through life, guiding in your very own story. They are what inherently drives someone to take action and accomplish tasks set forth. Working like a thread in your life, passions drags you through it. Everybody possess an eagerness, or enthusiasm towards at least one idea or cause. For example, some are really committed to exercising their passion, to become great athletes, famous singers, excellent dancers, skilled musicians, or something completely different. Here at Revolve NTNU we share the love for the technical aspects around racing, and together we design and make our own race car. We work on our engineering skills and practice that passion with joy throughout the year. To fuel one's passion, it is important to set ambitious goals and aim high. Without something to aim for, you would be lost and get nowhere. To reach our goal of being among the top five teams, enthusiasm and dedication are of great importance. The inner drive that rises from passion, helps with the creativity and innovation of new concepts and the formation of new ideas. Hopefully, these thoughts can be supported by wel l - e st abl ishe d
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theories and test results that we gather. Desiring the end result is a part of being passionate and I look forward to see what we can make from a year of hard work. We also need other people to be passionate about us. To succeed in our project it is necessary to have many innovative and forward-looking companies who can help us meet our goal. They can see the possibilities that lay in the development of our and their own passion. Through this passion, we develop new technology and great engineers. Whatever your passion is it will lead you through life, guiding you on the way towards your ambitions. One of my passions is photography. I am not necessarily great at it, however it makes me content and that is what truly matters. Another passion of mine is race cars, obviously. Even though I do not possess all the knowledge of them they are interesting and the way they work intrigues me. Luckily there are a lot of passionate people around me in Revolve NTNU who know very well how race cars work on a much deeper level. Their passion inspires me to do my best and help them in any way that I can. Martin Berger Editor-in-Chief
Who Is Behind It All?
Meet the Board in Revolve NTNU A causerie about the six members that together lead Revolve NTNU. The guys and girl controlling everything from the suspension of the race car to the marketing. Text: The members of the board
First out is Toralf, this year’s Driverless leader. He is the tallest guy in the team. Do not be too charmed by this guy, he may look like a lamb, but he can be cunning as few others. He has full control over the driverless members and is excited to continue building on the great foundation from our first driverless vehicle. The guy with the biggest beard on the board is Eirik. You often find him in the workshop covered in oil and grease. His favorite hobby is crushing a few hours studying bolts and ventilating some brakes. Eirik is also the most coffee addicted in the entire organization. Not necessarily to drink the coffee, sometimes simply having a hot cup of coffee next to him on his desk gets him through the day. Third we meet the man who knows all possible variants of Ohms law. Meet Odin. He is early bird number one, and if you want to reach him you should get up early. This is a person full of energy in all directions. If you look away for even a second, he may have disappeared, and finding him again is not always easy. He is always helping his members with everything from circuits on new PCBs, to battery management. Revolve NTNU is not only about crushing hours on the technical. We are also extremely committed to our marketing. To find the correct man for the job, we had to look all
the way to the warm beaches of Australia. Among the waves on a surfboard, we found Erik, on his exchange year away from Trondheim. He still lives after the Australian time zone some days, but you can always count on him to fix whatever the issue with the help of his spreadsheets. The guy who is in control of the budgets is Helge. He is this year’s deputy manager and head of finance. For most people, the economy is a grey and boring job. Not for him though, as this is a firework of colour. If you are having a bad day, this is the first person you should talk to. He takes the well being of our members very seriously, and therefore is always in a good mood and can help with everything from school work to social activities. The one running around like a headless chicken with a coffee in one hand and her phone in the other is Karoline, our Project Manager. Be warned: You approach her at your own risk if you poke her on the shoulder. She is alert and in addition to watching out for the organization and brand that is Revolve NTNU, she manages the 65 members spread across all technical and non-technical systems. This is by no means an easy task, and not everybody has the guts required. This tough as nails girl from Hønefoss however, have, and we are all grateful for that.
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©FSG - Maru
Among the Best In the World Formula Student Germany Text: Aida Angell Photo: Øyvind Ingebrigtsen & ©FSG - Maru
The summer of ’18 is going down in Revolve NTNU history. We placed second overall in the most prestigious Formula Student Competition, namely, Formula Student Germany (FSG). This was the summer Revolve NTNU for the very first time got a place on the podium. For those who do not know what Formula Student is, I will give you a quick introduction. Formula Student is the world’s biggest engineering competition for students. The goal is to build a prototype race car and compete against teams from other great universities such as München, Stuttgart, Delft, and University of Zürich. The competition is divided into static and dynamic events. It is not enough for the car to drive fast out on the track, but we also get judged in Engineering Design, Cost of the car, and we must make a Business Plan Presentation where our prototype race car is in focus. Team 2018 got qualified to enter this competition with both of its 7th generation race cars, the 3rd generation electric vehicle (EV), and its 1st generation electric driverless vehicle (DV). After already completing two competitions, Formula Student East (for DV) and Formula Student Austria (for EV), and several weeks in Europe, we arrived in Hockenheim ready to show what we had worked on for the last year.
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The first couple of days was used to get the cars past scrutineering. This is a process where every critical part of the car is closely inspected by officials. This is to make sure that all the cars are rules compliant and safe to drive. Safety is a huge factor during the competition, therefore it can take up to several days to pass all the different scrutineering checks. When we are through scrutineering, the real fun begins. First up is the Acceleration and SkidPad. It is always fun to see who got the fastest car during Acceleration and who does the figure eight in SkidPad the best. It is fun because it can be used as an indication for which cars will perform well in the longer events, Autocross and Endurance. Next, we start with the static events. Engineering Design is one of the events where it is central to perform well. This is because it often correlates with doing well out on the track during the dynamic events. It begins with meeting the judges who are from Formula 1, Porsche, Bosch and several other companies. These are highly qualified engineers who judge our solutions incorporated in the car. We get tough questions, and we need to be able to defend every choice made in terms of cost, performance and production. Getting a good score in Engineering Design, means that the judges consider our designs well thought through.
Photos: Eld during rain check, testing if every system works after being exposed to a lot of downpour and Atmos ready to perform on the track in Hockenheimring. The final weekend at FSG is the most exciting part of the competition. On Sunday we must complete Endurance. This is the longest run, where we push our car to the maximum. The starting order of Endurance is based on how you performed in Autocross the day before. Autocross involves driving one lap in a track similar to the closed loop in Endurance. We ended up in the famous Final Five and got to drive last in the day with the four other top teams (this is an advantage). Seeing our car perform so well in Autocross, that we can be top five along with four teams that have performed well for years, was truly amazing. In the evening, it was all set for the award ceremony. We were hyped for a great evening, knowing we performed well in all dynamic and static events. The host finally got to the awards for the electric class. We thought that
we might just have a shot at top three. The third place went to a team from Germany. Then the host started to announce second place. “This year’s second place overall for electric vehicle goes to a team that has never been up here on the podium…”, and then it hit us. That was us. We stood up and started cheering “...and that is Revolve NTNU from Trondheim!”. We ran up to the podium to get our trophy and to receive the applause from 3000 other contestants. We did it. For the first time we placed top three in the world’s biggest engineering competition, Formula Student. Revolve NTNU team 2019 are well on their way, and they are eager to show the Formula Student community what we can do next.
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Beginning Working with Revolve NTNU
Isak Hammer joined Revolve NTNU this year. He is studying Applied Physics and Mathematics in his third year. His job is to develop the track finder algorithm, simplifying it to make it as fast as possible. Text: Ola Kirkerud Photo: Ă˜yvind Ingebrigtsen
Why did you apply? Revolve NTNU seemed like a cool way to use all the knowledge I have acquired from the university, and utilize my full potential. You get an interdisciplinary input by working close to capable engineering students from the entire university, and a completely different perspective compared to just doing theoretical physics. What is the difference between Revolve NTNU and other extracurricular activities you have been a part of? Revolve NTNU is a demanding extracurricular activity, I work a lot with problem solving and have to find the solution myself. It is relevant for my field of study, I evolve as an academic, and I am more confident in which field of study I want to specialize in. It motivates me to work in a competitive environment, where everyone wants to create something that ends on the top of the podium. How has the transition from a “normal� student to a Revolver been? I have never been as efficient as I am today. You get pushed to do Revolve and school at the same time, and of course, you want to do well in both. Luckily we got the Revolve subject with 7,5 credit points. It helps a lot that the university supports what we do. Has everything been according to your expectations? My expectations was that Revolve NTNU was going to be a challenge. After reconsidering my task and dividing the problem into smaller pieces, it became solvable. This has given me more confidence to aim for more challenging problems, which I find useful for the future.
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Continuing Working with Revolve NTNU Bo Willem Woelfert has been a part of the team at Revolve NTNU for three years. In those years he has also studied mechanical engineering and is now in his third year. Text: Ola Kirkerud Photo: Øyvind Ingebrigtsen
What were your responsibilities before and now? 2017: Steering system 2018: Driverless Group Leader 2019: Vehicle dynamics Why did you apply for another year? It was fun to see how well we were able to perform at competitions this summer. You always learn something new, and I consider it to be the best way in Trondheim to push technology. I am also very interested in vehicle dynamics, so it was only logical that I applied for it. What do you hope to achieve this year? I get to push myself and become a better engineer, and of course, be part of the team designing the best car in Revolve NTNU’s history. Do you have any plans after Revolve NTNU? I am actually going to attend a 13 months internship at Red Bull Racing, which is Red Bull’s Formula 1 team. Revolve NTNU was definitely a deciding factor in getting me the opportunity, as I emphasized on it a lot both in the application and during the interview. I believe it separates me from the other applicants. What do you enjoy the most at Revolve NTNU? I just love everything about it, that is why I am here for the 3rd year in a row. The competitions are great fun, the spirit of Formula Student is different from everything else; no hostility, just students from all over the world helping each other to succeed. It also motivates me a lot to work with some of the best engineering students at NTNU. They are the most motivated and dedicated group I know.
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Writing a Thesis for Revolve NTNU Writing a thesis for Revolve NTNU is more than just research. It is development and continuous testing to achieve your goals at the world stage. The subject of your thesis might be one of the most difficult and important decisions in your education. It carries great weight and is often used actively by potential employers to find the correct candidate for their jobs. For these reasons, many have chosen to write their thesis in Revolve NTNU, and so should you! Text: Øyvind Ingebrigtsen
We are one of Norway’s largest in-house car manufacturers and we have broken new grounds multiple times. We were first to make an electric racecar in Norway, first four-wheel driven electric car in Norway and also the first fully autonomous racecar in Scandinavia. What is important here is not the car itself, it is the project of having a vessel which requires constant innovation and maximum performance to stay at the top. The future of Revolve NTNU is bright, but with you as a possible master or bachelor student, it will be even brighter. Since we are all students, we are all here for each other and we are all in the same situation. Together we work towards a common goal, no matter the limitations or setbacks. Here at Revolve NTNU we design and plan towards something physical that we, in the end, create and get to see working. All the hours spent on researching and planning accumulates into an actual product that will be used in one of the world’s biggest engineering competitions. Through the entire process, you have
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people to fall back on for their competence and help. In Revolve NTNU you get a helping hand if you need one. Members of Revolve NTNU are highly sought after by companies. We have constant communication with manufacturers and businesses. As a nonprofit organization we have to rely on our sponsors. We now have former members working in companies like Kongsberg Gruppen and Evry to name a few. Even on the international scale we have a good reputation and it has lead to some of our members reaching the pinnacle of motorsports. These lucky few are working at Red Bull Racing and Mercedes F1 team. This shows how much the competence you get in Revolve NTNU is sought after when you are done with your studies.
Master Thesis on Vehicle Control Unit Text & Photo: Øyvind Ingebrigtsen
Originally from Skedsmokorset near Lillestrøm, Nikolai Z. Nymo is currently writing his master thesis for Revolve NTNU. “There is no other student organisation at NTNU on this level. I wanted to get involved in an extracurricular activity which was related to my studies, and there is currently nothing better for an engineering student in Trondheim than Revolve NTNU”, he says. His main task in Revolve NTNU this year is to design and implement a Vehicle Control Unit, or VCU for short. Simply explained; the VCU is the central electronic system in the race car. It’s main task is to produce the setpoints for rotations per minute and torque for the four electric motors on the car. This system lets the car control the torque on every wheel individually and is in the industry called torque vectoring. With torque vectoring, the car can for example break on the inner wheels as the car goes through a tight turn yielding a very short turn radius.
must be balanced in software with other tasks such as communication with other systems and security checks to ensure that sensor readings are not faulty. Nikolai’s mission for Revolve NTNU is to upgrade the VCU from featuring a relatively simple microcontroller to a much faster System on Chip solution. This enables the VCU to run the algorithms more often, reducing latency and yielding a better driver experience. “The project is, simply put, incredibly cool. You learn so much and get to use theoretical knowledge to actually make something. It is very different from working on a purely theoretical problem that someone figured to be a good fit for a master thesis.’’ Revolve NTNU are excited to see all that Nikolai can do over the next few months.
This wonder does this by gathering about 60 sensor readings from the car’s other systems and performing a process called sensor fusion to create an accurate model of the car’s current state. The car’s state and the driver’s input is then used to calculate optimal setpoints for the motors. The problem is that the control algorithms are computationally heavy to perform and
Photo: One of Revolve NTNU’s in-house printed circuit board’s.
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Sponsors
Rebecca’s Internship at Bertel O. Steen The Bertel O. Steen group has an ambition to take a leading role in the development of the Norwegian automotive industry. The partnership with the dedicated Revolve NTNU team gives Bertel O. Steen useful insight into practical engineering. In return, Bertel O. Steen, as a main sponsor, helps Revolve NTNU with the necessary resources that allow them to fulfill their projects. It is a fruitful and awarding partnership for both parties. Text: Rebecca Sandstø Photo: Rebecca Sandstø
What was it like being a summer intern in Bertel O. Steen?
What did you do, and how was the internship relevant for your studies?
Throughout the summer, our team of interns performed numerous different and interesting tasks, both in the offices in Oslo and at a dealership’s workshop in Bergen. We were closely followed up throughout the summer, and all the tasks we were given were closely related to and relevant for the ongoing projects in Bertel O. Steen.
We worked on two different projects: Process improvement and Data & Analytics. I study Mechanical Engineering and specialize in production, and had the opportunity to utilize both my experience from school and from Revolve NTNU in the tasks related to processes at the Bertel O. Steen workshops. I have less experience with Data & Analytics, so working with tasks related to this subject provided me with a lot of new knowledge.
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Photo: Rebecca was the Project Manager in Revolve NTNU in 2017. This summer she participated in Bertel O. Steen’s summer internship program.
What did you learn, and which experiences are you taking with you going forward in your career?
What kind of process improvement did you work with? How was it useful for the workshop? The car workshop we worked at in Bergen, was in the midst of a big restructuring process. We were responsible for restructuring systems related to tools. The objective was to find solutions to increase production efficiency, and the results of our studies are now being implemented at the workshop. Which opportunities do you see within Data & Analytics in the automotive industry in general, and for Bertel O. Steen in particular? The title of Bertel O. Steen’s prize winning job ad “The last person to take a driver license is already born” sums up the situation in the car industry very well and gives a clear indication of the dramatic changes that will come. I think the area of Data & Analytics will play a central role in utilizing these changes. To concentrate the use of resources, for example with streamlining customer care and making it easy and hassle free to be a customer, is something I believe will be critical for the automotive companies in the future.
As a more practically oriented person, I was not expecting to find Data & Analytics very interesting. However, the summer internship developed a completely new set of interests for me, which I hope to develop further in my future career. Do you have any advice to students and young professionals curious about working in the automotive industry? I would recommend everyone to do volunteer work, like Revolve NTNU, in addition to regular studies and summer internships, if possible. Through practical experience, you can explore your interests and motivation, and you will be better fit to know what you can offer this innovative industry undergoing exciting changes. In addition, volunteer work broadens your network and it can be a door opener to working experiences in the industry – as it was for me at Bertel O. Steen. The automotive industry is facing an interesting and challenging future, with some of the largest shifts in its history ahead. Bertel O. Steen is taking an active part in leading the development, and the company will provide exciting career opportunities for NTNU students. Follow Bertel O. Steen on LinkedIn and check out the career site www.boskarriere.com.
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Te sting to K n ow Deep Dive Name: Mats Erik Haugan Position: Rims & Test Manager From: Brekstad Age: 24 Field of study: B. S. Mechanical engineering Text: Sebastian Veum Photos: Øyvind Storvik Ingebrigtsen
When developing two race cars in only eight months, of which one is built from scratch, the probability for mistakes occuring is high. To combat this issue Revolve NTNU has created a completely new position, Test Manager. This position involves a lot of responsibility, time constraints and a wide variety of challenges. Mats Erik has the honor of being our first test manager. The job involves designing specialized tests used to get the best and most realistic data of the race car’s components. Alongside this job Mats Erik is studying and enjoying his spare time. After multiple years of production and designing race cars, why is this the first year we create such a position? Since we use only eight months on this project, the potential for improvement can vary and testing of the individual systems as we go along can be quite difficult. The intention for conducting such tests is to look at the theories behind our design choices and find out if they will actually work in practice. For example, we want to know whether we should make our suspension system lighter or stiffer to in-
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crease the performance of the resulting race car. This position as test manager is important if we want to get the most out of the car that we build. Mats Erik can tell us that he was drawn towards the position because of his responsible nature and he is happy with the included task of making the rims for the race car. He states with a smile: ”What drives me every day is the hunger for learning new things, as well as performing and developing myself as a person.”
Photo: Mats Erik welding a testrig used for testing how the suspension system of our race car reacts when it is suscepted to known forces in different directions. What is important with this position is to make sure all the systems developed by the team are able to be tested and optimized to work as well as they possibly can. The job also includes working as a mentor for the rest of the team and teach them how to use the test rigs and testing methods. ”I have so far learned a lot of new things, such as how wheel suspension works, how different factors affect the car’s performance and generally a lot of mechanical theory, which I need in my studies and my future.”
Mats Erik also emphazises that learning how to work as a team is an experience he will take with him when he moves on from Revolve NTNU. The new position in this large project has an important role in meeting the team’s goal of reaching top 5 in Formula Student Germany. It is a rewarding position which offers lots of possibilities for learning and developing. That is something which can be of good use in life in general. Any position in Revolve NTNU involves becoming a part of a good community of likeminded and is something to recommend.
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Sponsors
Text: Mjøs Metallvarefabrikk AS Photo: Ole Andreas Ramsdal
Mjøs Metallvarefabrikk AS is a manufacturing company, with in-house production capabilities for prototyping, casting, machining, assembly, and testing. The company’s key strategy is to support customers with production know-how and provide engineering services with a real design-for-production approach. The company is well equipped for engineering turn-key solutions; as a stand-alone service or in joint cooperation with the customer. Mjøs Metallvarefabrikk AS manufactures a wide variety of mechanical precision components for the maritime industry, the offshore and subsea market, as well as other demanding industries. Mjøs Metallvarefabrikk AS is located on Osterøy, north of Bergen. The company was established in 1865, hence representing more than 150 years of proud heritage within the foundry and machining business.
Technology Mjøs Metallvarefabrikk AS focuses on stateof-the-art technological solutions to ensure
competitive and sustainable production of mechanical components and products. This requires sustained focus and continuous development of our own organization and the technological tools and equipment we utilize in production. To ensure our competitive strategy, we are conducting a number of internal development projects and are participating in extensive development programs with renowned industry partners and research institutions. We also attach great importance to maintaining a close dialogue with relevant educational institutions–both to ensure the recruitment of future employees and to convey the industry’s requirements and expectations of the respective educational institutions. Sponsoring Revolve NTNU is a great opportunity to support technological development and to participate in the creation of an ever more impressive race car. The journey taken on by a new team of students each year truly correlates to our own mission: Putting theory in practice.
As they have done before, Mjøs Metallvarefabrik AS is helping us with their expertise. Before they have taken on the challenge of fabricating our rim centers. Through their expertise, they turn and mill about 200 kg of raw aluminium into highly optimized, three-dimensional structures, of just 765 grams a piece. This allows us to create some of the lightest and stiffest wheel assemblies to date.
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The Accumulator Story The Power for the Race Car
We live in the age of the electric car revolution. For the past 10 years the market has seen an unprecedented change in the car industry. Revolve NTNU is a part of this change, building an electric race car from scratch every single year. A lot of challenges arise when switching from more conventional fuels to electricity. We have our solutions and they are developed by the Accumulator & Housing group, securing safety and power for the race car. Text: Henrique Lemos Photo: Martin Berger
Normally, the type of vehicle is defined by the type of energy that the vehicle uses. One example is the combustion car. The name implies a car that uses burning fuel, like gasoline, as the source of energy. In the case of the electric car, the source of energy is it’s battery. In general, something that stores energy is called an accumulator. There are multiple different ways of storing electricity, and one of them is capacitors. Capacitors have the potential to deliver a hefty “punch”, but can not store a lot of energy over a longer time period. Therefore, we at Revolve NTNU use batteries as the main source of energy. In the market, it is possible to find different types of batteries. The main types are the acid- and the lithium-ion-batteries. Lithium-ion types are considered a much better solution, because it can store more energy per weight unit compared to other batteries. However, there is one major problem, the lithium-ion batteries can explode! The dangers of working with the battery gives the Accumulator & Housing group the most dangerous and important task in the manufacturing of the race car. Our task is to build the energy source for the car in the safest way possible. Even though safety is important, it is not everything. We must at the
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same time ensure that we have precisely as much energy as we need to make it around the track. Every single gram counts in the world of racing. If the accumulator gets too hot, the battery can catch fire and put the driver in danger. Therefore, one of the most difficult tasks in building an accumulator is the cooling system. The cooling system of the battery determines the placement and distribution of the battery cells inside the accumulator casing. For the best results, the Accumulator & Housing group works together with the Aerodynamic group in finding and simulating the heat distribution inside the accumulator casing. This effort leads to a safer and well managed accumulator. Another aspect in building the accumulator is the casing. The person responsible for the casing has the task of fitting in battery cells, monitoring systems, cables and safety mechanisms inside a small and compact place while also taking into account the cooling process. It is also important to build a case that can secure the battery cells and to secure the driver’s safety in the event of an accident. It is a challenging and important task that the Accumulator & Housing group are
responsible for. The entire accumulator with casing also needs to fit as snuggly as possible inside the monocoque. The process of determining how much energy the car will need has its challenges. The team needs to know in the beginning of the designing process how much power the car will need during the competitions next summer. The amount of energy is used to plan how much the accumulator will weigh, how many cells we are going to use and how much it will cost, by analyzing the needs of the motors, cables, weight and more. This creates serious challenges for the accumulator manager because he needs to take into account values which are uncertain and based on conservative estimates in the beginning of the design phase. Working in the Accumulator & Housing group is exciting and full of challenges. We do not have a lot of time to work on the accumulator and it must be perfect. Working in the Accumulator & Housing group involves working with a very important, delicate and dangerous system. This challenge makes us better at solving complex tasks which we certainly will meet in our careers as engineers.
Photos: Dissasembling and learning the ins and outs of the accumulator.
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Evolving Students Into Engineers Starting up in Revolve NTNU there are a few changes compared to studying. We get an end goal and work on actual problems regarding existing systems. Working together as a team, we are able to create what other people might only dream about being able to. Text: Erik Brettingen Johansen Photos: Ă˜yvind Ingebrigtsen & Martin Berger
We believe that a practical approach to education is necessary to be able to connect the theory we learn at the university to real life applications. It is also essential to have experience working in a team. Being able to combine different fields of studies will provide us with a great head start when we join the working force. Revolve NTNU lets us apply the theory we learn in practice through a project that is challenging, complex, interesting and real life applicable. The problems one solves in later work might not be related to race cars, but the methods used and the way of working will be the same. What I find so interesting about the Formula Student competition, is that the judges test the students’ knowledge just as much as they test the race cars‘ performance. In that way, by currently being one of the highest performing teams in the world, our students have developed to be highly trained engineers that follow professional engineering routines acknowledged by high industry standards. Teamwork is key in Revolve NTNU, as it is in the rest of the industry. The car consists of many highly complex systems, which require close cooperation between the students working on each system, in order for the car to perform at its best. One example
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is how the groups have to communicate to make sure all the parts and systems physically fit together and interact with each other optimally. If there is a need to increase the battery capacity, the added volume and weight might affect the design of the chassis, the cooling solution, the structure of the sensor network and the center of gravity, which again may affect how the aerodynamic package and the geometry of the suspension is designed, along with many other aspects. One of the biggest advantages of Revolve NTNU is the pool of skilled people we have around us. Not only do we learn good practices, but also how to efficiently communicate, make tough decisions and document them, and how to prioritize important tasks in order to structure our day. In many ways, we work and structure our organization similar to a medium sized engineering company. We organize ourselves in areas of responsibilities related to project management, marketing and financial management, as well as many different fields within engineering. As a team we are dedicated, innovative and ambitious. We develop top-end electric and autonomous racing cars, but the end product and goal is our students; they evolve into world-class engineers.
Photo: Amund Fjøsne during dynotesting with Atmos at Optituning Trondheim.
Photo: Karoline Halvorsen disassembling the suspension of Atmos.
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One Step Closer to Perfection Concept Review
Revolve NTNU takes in new members every year. All of them have big plans and ideas, but how do we know if the ideas have any merit? And will they work or fit with other systems? Concept review is an event we arrange every autumn where everyone presents their ideas and plans in front of current and earlier members. Why do we do this? It helps in taking us one step closer to perfection. Text: Sebastian Veum
Working in an environment where you have to find solutions to a problem and create a concept or idea, it is important that everyone receives opinions and tips from each other. A member can become so obsessed with their own work that he or she might miss small, but crucial flaws. These flaws are important to remove if the race car is going to work in the end. Our earlier members, the alumni, also join the concept review. They have experienced the project before and can more easily see if something is not going to work. It is really valuable to get input from qualified people who have worked on the systems we are trying to improve upon. Getting another view of the problem from these skilled people is always welcomed. Presenting a conceptual design can be nerve-wracking. Presenting in front of experienced and critical people is even harder, but it is such an important skill we have to develop. In the summer, the team members are going to present their systems in front of some of the smartest and most skilled people in the motorsport, automotive and supplier
industries. That is also why we start early to train our members in presenting and focus on finding good solutions to the problems we face. Good solutions make it easier to defend our design choices. After the concept review, every member have gained greater insight into whether their concepts, ideas, and plans will work. They have also received feedback on what to correct and how to realize a functional, finished product. We are getting one step closer to perfection.
Photo: A break during the concept review.
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Sponsors
The Digital Future of Electric, Connected and Autonomous Vehicles Text & Photo: Dassault Systèmes
Driverless, connected cars are ushering in a new era of travel that is efficient, affordable, clean and green. Experts predict that these systems will transform travel in the years to come and shape the future of mobility, smart cities and interactive communities. Bringing this new generation of cars onto the road requires new vehicle innovators and OEM leaders alike to rethink the way we experience their products and the way they engineer them.
Battery Engineering Battery design and engineering for electric vehicles involves an array of challenges, which requires a combination of design and multiphysics simulation. The CATIA, BIOVIA and SIMULIA brands of Dassault Systèmes are working together to offer a solution that connects mechanical and system design, materials and chemistry modeling and performance assessment of battery cells, modules and packs.
The unique challenge posed by the integration of new technologies (including LiDAR and other advanced sensing devices, batteries, new broadband antennas, electric drives and power electronics), along with the need to improve efficiency, calls for new solutions and applications that will better integrate engineering disciplines to help engineers look at vehicle performance in a new, more holistic way.
Electrical Drives To meet the design requirements of electric drives, teams need an environment that will allow them to optimize designs by simultaneously taking into account noise and vibrations, thermal management of the heat dissipated by high rotation speeds and ohmic losses, proper lubrication of the integrated gearbox, etc. Dassault Systèmes has invested in key technologies that address all of these challenges and is bringing them together on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform to allow for multidisciplinary optimization of the system.
Dassault Systèmes provides industry-leading applications on the 3DEXPERIENCE platform for design, engineering, simulation, manufacturing, production, collaboration and governance. This platform approach enables the integration of multidisciplinary technology and organization functions, which is helping to accelerate the development of next generation of electric vehicle and autonomous transportation. The latest issue of SIMULIA Community News magazine offers a number of customer case studies illustrating the use of the 3DEXPERIENCE platform and SIMULIA’s multiphysics applications for:
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Radar & Sensors Already in use in traditional vehicles, radar and sensors will be more important in autonomous electric vehicles. Cleanliness of those sensors — or how much dirt it takes to block their function — is critical to their performance. Vehicle soiling is a phenomenon that our Fluids Simulation application can address. The soiling analysis results can be integrated with electromagnetic simulation to help designers and engineers ensure proper placement and operation of the sensors.
The convergence of all of these technologies makes it an exciting time to be a part of the automotive world! The SIMULIA brand of Dassault Systèmes is extremely proud to be a sponsor of Revolve NTNU as we share our common journey in using design and simulation applications to drive advancements for the next generation of electric, connected and autonomous vehicles.
SIMULIA COMMUNITY NEWS #20 October 2018
DRIVING THE DIGITAL FUTURE OF ELECTRIC, CONNECTED AND AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES
COVER STORY
ROMEO POWER
Photo: Read the complete issue of SIMULIA Community News online at our Electric Vehicles microsite at go.3ds.com/TrustTheDrive.
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Why Build an Autonomous Car? Text: Toralf Frich Photo: Morgan Heggeland
Why did humans go to the moon? Why did we bother building farms when we could merely survive on the animals we evolved to catch? Humans strive for innovation to create a brighter future. The newest avenue for innovation in our field of race car engineering has been the boom in computer technology. Utilizing artificial intelligence as a tool will be the next step for all humankind. Revolve NTNU has not been blind to these changes. We continuously strive to become better and to challenge the notion that only the most prominent companies can build such solutions. Over the years we have grown as a team, even though we have a long way to go. However, what Revolve NTNU aim for, is progress. Therefore, last year’s team decided to build a fully autonomous race car.
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Last year’s driverless car was in many ways the first of its kind. It was the first autonomous race car in Scandinavia and, equally as important, the first of its kind in Revolve NTNU. Hence, last year’s team faced what one can call unexpected challenges. The critical fact is that they overcame all of them, and as a team, we have grown exponentially because of that. Today, we are faced with other challenges that are similar in theme. How do you improve an autonomous race car? This question takes center stage as the driverless group try to find last year’s bottlenecks and discover how to develop them! One of the most notable changes to this year’s car is to improve the LiDAR technology in the organization. We upgraded the system by adding an Ouster OS-1 with four
Photo: Point cloud from our LiDAR. The color indicates height.
times the emitters and receivers compared to our previous model, bringing the number up to 64. Another aspect we have decided to change is how we locate ourselves in the space around us. The 2019 car is going to use visual odometry, which is among other things, also used in the Mars rover. This technology tracks high contrast points in the image and can operate on a relatively low framerate. Hence, the car will, at every moment, know its exact position. The brain of the car has also gotten a huge upgrade. We have increased the processing power while creating a unit that is 80% smaller. It will also be far more convenient and will allow us to update the car’s brain without being remotely close to the vehicle. We have also created a new steering system, braking system and brand new PCBs that are to be a part of the car. With guidance from previous members, the parts are look-
ing better than ever and will make a huge difference in the final result. These differences are only small parts in the grand scheme of creating a driverless car that is both faster and more reliable. These changes all have one characteristic in common. Why are we creating a driverless car? Why do we spend our time going the extra mile? By allowing new technologies into our organization, we are enabling more students to get hands-on experience with their dream projects. As the world becomes more reliant on computers for every day that passes, a new wave of computer engineers is gaining ground. Missing out on the opportunities that we do not even know exist yet is not an option, and hence, the driverless team is a great addition to the team. The future is driverless, do not miss out.
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Exploring Is Finding Opportunities Where Others Find Limits Text: Per Jørgen Weisethaunet, NORBIT
NORBIT is an international knowledge based co- Proud Partner of Revolve NTNU rporation that supplies high-technology solutions Supporting entrepreneurship and innovation is key in applications ranging from SubSea to Space. to NORBIT. Our experienced engineers love to coNORBIT´s vision is to be recognized as world class, operate with Revolve NTNU´s enthusiastic team, because we share the same love of exploring new enabling people to explore more. concepts and improving existing designs. We look forward to discover more about the huge Innovation, Collaboration, possibilities with our teams working together in Courage and Trust the future. Being among a very few companies One of the ways to achieve our goal is to aspire our in Norway working with Automotive electronics employees to grow in an environment of innovation, we think the fit with Revolve NTNU is awesome. collaboration, courage and trust. We give each employee considerable scope in making decisions re- After all; engineers change the world and we are on garding his or her work. This implies a large degreee a mission to explore more. of freedom and places substantial demands on our employees.
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The Inertial Measurement Unit STIM300 in 1:1-scale
Position yourself. With more than 60 thousand gyros installed since 2010, the list of applications that rely on STIM every day is evergrowing: Mobile mapping | 3D Lidar systems | Road surface analysis | Autonomous vehicles | Camera turrets | Remote weapon stations | High resolution airborne surveillance systems | Laser guided bombs | Short range missiles | Phased array scanning airborne radar systems | Medical precision surgery equipment | Airborne Lidar system | Multibeam underwater sonars | Satellite attitude control | High altitude sounding rockets | Automotive vehicle testing | Humanoids | Industrial production robots | Mobile phone calibration & test equipment | Vehicle navigation | Sporting event wire operated cameras | Movie industry action cameras | Satellite earth observation cameras | Space craft docking navigation | Meteorite landing and explorations systems | Aircraft flight control systems | Underwater vessel control | Military target accusations systems | Mortar aiming systems | Direct infrared counter measurement | Missile launch platforms | Pipeline inspection | UAV’s | Electronic warfare systems | Satellite launch vehicles When reaching for the ultimate performance level, they all trust STIM300. It’s a straight choice Weight 55 grams | Size 35cm3 | 0.3°/h Bias instability
Eld
Revolve NTNU’s First Driverless Vehicle Text: Toralf Frich Photo: Øyvind Ingebrigtsen
Eld, Revolve NTNU’s racecar from 2017, got an overhaul for the 2018 season. The result turned out to be our first driverless race car. However, before driving all by itself, Eld needed some changes in both hardware and software. As for sensors, two cameras were attached to the main hoop just above the driver’s compartment, and a LiDAR was placed below the nose of the car. Behind the driver’s compartment, the brain of the vehicle; the processing unit, was installed to process all the information the car got from its surroundings. New actuators had to be added, allowing for software to control the steering system as well as allowing for braking to happen in case
anything went wrong. After careful decision making, Team 18 removed the aero package, and the low voltage battery got replaced with a link that allowed us to get low voltage power from the high voltage accumulator. This year we will build upon and develop Revolve NTNU Driverless further. The foundation established by last year’s team has luckily not gone missing and will help this year’s driverless racecar a lot.
Atmos
Revolve NTNU’s Best and Newest Electric Vehicle Text: Eirik Bodsberg Photo: Øyvind Ingebrigtsen
Atmos is the third generation four-wheel driven, electrical race car developed and produced by Revolve NTNU. Atmos is not only exceptionally good looking, but a great example that third time’s a charm, being one of Revolve NTNU’s most successful vehicles ever built. During the summer, Atmos gathered trophies in both dynamic and static events in every competition competed in, as well as the second place overall in Formula Student Germany. Building on a strong technical base from the previous electric vehicles, the main technical focus of Atmos was to better utilize the airflow around the car to achieve better traction. To reach this goal we implemented a new chassis design, a redesign of the entire
aerodynamic package and a new suspension system stabilizing the aerodynamics. One of Atmos’ advantages is its stable electronics. By implementing new sensors and an advanced telemetry system we have streamed more than 100 GB of data from the car to our own developed software, Revolve Analyze. This has given us the opportunity to learn, understand and optimize our systems towards the competition season, getting every bit of potential out of our race car when it counts. Atmos, which is according to our drivers a dream to race, is now putting the drivers on the shelves, seeking new challenges as our next driverless vehicle.
CONE DETECTION Detection based on LiDAR point cloud and ML cone classiďŹ cation Redundant system with stereo setup and YOLO cone detection Detection range for cones w/colour of 30m
END-TO-END A CNN that maps raw images directly to steering command predictions ML pipeline
MODEL PREDICTIVE CONTOURING CONTROL Optimal race lines Based on single-track vehicle model with nonlinear Magic Formula tire model Tire model parameters estimated on-line
SENSORS AND PROCESSING Nvidia Drive PX2 Auto Chauffeur Velodyne Puck 16 FLIR Blackfly VectorNav VN200 SwiftNav Piksi Multi
SLAM Incremental smoothing and mapping Fusing sensors with factor graph Fluid relinearization
TESTING IPG CarMaker Gazebo simulator Traxxas XO-1 RC car fitted with sensors and processing
POWERTRAIN Planetary compound gearbox, with optimized gear ratio of 15.58:1 Ducting of air through the accumulator for increased cooling Total torque output of 1310 Nm 4WD with torque vectoring 280 cell LCO accumulator
MONOCOQUE New packaging resulting in improved design space and CG location High modulus UD ďŹ ber used in the layup Tested torsional stiffness of 2500 Nm/deg
ELECTRONICS 4.3� TFT LCD dashboard with integrated datalogger Inhouse developed Vehicle Control Unit, Accumulator Management System and sensorics system Focus on modularity and standardization to improve electrical robustness Phased array telemetry system
AERODYNAMICS 813 N downforce @ 60 km/h Lightweight undertray with Lift/Drag-ratio of 7.7 400 design iterations performed in CFD software
SUSPENSION 13'' continental FS tires Heave spring assembly, with tender springs on all dampers Modelled vehicle parameters for initial setup and adjustment sensitivity Tested and evolved two piece rim design Self developed Caliper design
SOFTWARE In-house developed software allowing for real-time analysis of all measured internal states Tools for state monitoring, post-processing, design analysis and driver feedback Live HD-video and data capabilities
The Revolve NTNU Team 2019 Formula Student Racing Team
The Board
Karoline Halvorsen
Helge Bergo
Toralf Frich
Project Manager
Deputy Project Manager & Head of Finance
Chief Driverless Engineer
Erik Brettingen Johansen
Eirik Bodsberg
Odin Aleksander Severinsen
Marketing Manager
Chief Mechanical Engineer
Chief Electrical Engineer
Marketing
Erik Brettingen Johansen Marketing Manager
Mohammad Rafi Khajeh
Web Developer & Event Manager
Ola Kirkerud
Sebastian Veum
Key Account Manager
Key Account Manager
Martin Berger
Ă˜yvind Ingebrigtsen
Graphical Design
PR & Communications
Software
Lars van der Lee
Karl Petter Aubert
Jørgen Fagervik
Emil Andersen
Ask Sommervoll
Thomas Blaalid
Software Group Leader
Software Engineer
Software Engineer
Software Engineer
Software Engineer
Software Engineer
Accumulator & Housing
Colin MacDonald
Henrique Lemos
Accumulator & Housing Group Leader
André Kristo
Accumulator
Kristian Moe
Battery Casing & CAD
Inverter Casing
Shubham Sethi Wire Harness
Embedded Electronics
Viktor Korsnes
Nikolai Nymo
Embedded Electronics Group Leader
Vehicle Control Unit
Hermann Sundklakk
Kolbjørn Austreng
Inverter
Åsmund Eek
Håkon Skeie
Bootloader, CAN & AMS Software
Inverter
Jan Ottar Olsen
Sensors & Telemetry
Accumulator Management System
Jostein Brovold
Christian Holmvik
Safety Systems
Eskil Mogstad
Dashboard and Data Acquisition
Autonomous Control Unit
Aerodynamics
Vegard Slettahjell Skjefstad
Jens Mildestveit
Asier Beascoechea
CAD & CFD
Cooling
Aerodynamics Group Leader
Magnus Fiksdahl
Fasteners & Production
Ole Martin Gjerde CAD & CFD
Monocoque
Christian Trandem
Anders Oust
Monocoque Group Leader
Impact Attenuator
Tom Lowder
Daniel Steinsland
CAD
Inserts
Simen Ekornåsvåg SES & Simulation
Roberts Račko
Drivers Environment
Suspension & Drivetrain
Martin Palm
Suspension & Drivetrain Group Leader
Mats Erik Haugan Rims & Test Manager
Mathias Lien
Vemund Vestreng
Truls Mentzoni Skoglund
Kristoffer Haugland
Gear & Motor
Steering System
Dimensioning
Upright & Caliper
Kristoffer Weaver CAD DV
Max Kruse
Steering System DV
Petter Grønlie
Brake System DV
Perception & Navigation
Martin Sandberg
Perception & Navigation Group Leader
Anna Hermansen Detection Specialist
Isak Hammer
Morgan Heggland
Jacob Dahl
Adrian Skibelid
Track Finder
Detection Specialist
Sensor & Processing
SLAM
Vehicle Dynamics & Control Systems
Marius Hamre Nordrik
Jacob Vigerust
Vehicle Dynamics & Control System Group Leader
Adaptive Dampers
Tom Daniel Grande
Christine Borg
Torque Vectoring
Torque Vectoring
Bo Willem Woelfert
Amund Fjøsne
Vehicle Dynamics
Adaptive Dampers
Jens Joberg
Marcus Engebretsen
Modeling & State Estimation
Path Planning & Control Systems
Hardware
Christian Holmvik
Jostein Brovold
Autonomous Control Unit
Petter Grønlie
Safety Systems
Max Kruse
Brake System DV
Kristoffer Weaver
Steering System DV
CAD DV
Drivers
Lars van der Lee
Roberts Račko
Asier Beascoechea
Vemund Vestreng
Mathias Lien
Simen Ekornåsvåg
Drivers Group Leader
Driver
Driver
Driver
Driver
Driver
Embedded Navigation Solutions