Newsflash April

Dear friends, dear supporters and dear fans!

We are back with a new update from the production phase of the EDGE16.

Another milestone was reached this month - our car is on its own tires! In addition to the rolling chassis, there were also successful driverless test drives. Progress was made not only in the workshop, but also in the think tank. The statics projects are slowly taking shape and are in the final stages. We are also on the home straight towards the rollout!

Driverless

We had our very first driverless test day - a day that brought us a significant step closer to an autonomous EDGE!

Our goal was to achieve a proof of concept for the entire software and hardware system - and we are proud to say that we succeeded! For the first time, we were able to complete an entire mission autonomously. All system states were successfully run through without any manual intervention - an important step for our development. We are particularly pleased about the successful validation of our odometry approach. The precise determination of position and speed is essential for the autonomous control of the vehicle - and our system delivered strong results here. The positioning of our LiDAR was also confirmed in the test: The sensor setup provides the required data reliably and lays the foundation for further progress in environment detection.

With this successful test day, we have shown that our developments are on the right track - and we are already looking forward to the next DV test days!

Rolling Chassis

As the name suggests, rolling chassis means that the chassis stands on its own tires for the first time. This means that the monocoque is bolted to the chassis. In our case, these are wishbones, pushrods, dampers, wheel carriers, rims with tires and other components - simply everything that belongs to the chassis of the car. This means that we have taken another major step in the construction and completion of the car, as this milestone is comparable to the monocoque homecoming.

Our battery cells have arrived

We received our new battery cells this month. These are HV cells with a maximum voltage of 4.35 volts and a capacity of more than 6000mAh. With the new cells, we have a voltage of 600V, which gives us a higher maximum output. 

Statics

For the summer competitions, not only the dynamic disciplines are important, but also the static ones. These consist of Business Plan, Engineering Design and Cost Report.

For the business plan, the team invents a company with a product for which at least components of the racing car must be used. The focus is currently on the pitch video, which must be completed for FS Austria by mid-May.

The engineering report is another statics discipline in which the main focus is on justifying and explaining the design decision for the car. This is where the technical managers of all the car's assemblies meet and consider how the decisions can best be presented. The alumni are particularly important for this discipline, as they are always on hand to provide feedback and information. A lot of practice is required to ensure that everything is right.

The cost report serves to realistically depict the fictitious production costs of our vehicle. Each year, a component group is selected, this year the steering system, for which the most realistic cost breakdown possible must be drawn up. An important change this season is the introduction of the CO2 emissions calculation as an additional evaluation point. With this, Formula Student wants to place a stronger focus on sustainable production. In addition to material, machine and personnel costs, the CO2 emissions associated with production, from the extraction of raw materials to the finished vehicle, will also be calculated.

Each module is currently working on a detailed list of all components of our EDGE16. At the same time, the cost report team is working on calculating the costs and CO2 emissions of the steering system. In addition, cost explanation files, cost understanding documents and drawings of the parts and assemblies are being prepared in order to be best prepared for all questions from the judges at the competitions. 

KSG Event

For students from Trondheim, more precisely the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, there was an interesting presentation at the TU together with our sponsor KSG. Following the presentations by KSG, Gate Space, the TU Wien Space Team and us, there was plenty of time to exchange ideas and share experiences.

H&H Systems 

Almost 30 years ago, H&H Systems committed itself to the digitalization of maintenance and was thus a pioneer in the field of software-supported maintenance. Today, the CMMS (Computerized Maintenance Management Software) ISPRO-NG is successfully used by numerous companies worldwide. User-friendly, multilingual and highly flexible, ISPRO-NG covers all operational and strategic maintenance requirements - regardless of industry or company size.

Innovative further developments, the use of state-of-the-art technologies and full integration options in production networks make isproNG a modern maintenance and asset management system. Mobile solutions such as the ISPRO-NG app and the web portal round off the smart maintenance software and guarantee efficient and fully digitalized maintenance processes.

We are delighted to have found such a motorsport enthusiast partner in H&H Systems and would like to say a big thank you for the financial support!

Until then!

Your TU Wien Racing