Vehicle Design Summit

The goal of the ‘Vehicle Design Summit’ project is to design, build and bring to market the VISION, a hyper efficient and environmental friendly vehicle. The 4 passenger vehicle is meant for the Indian and Chinese market. It will demonstrate a high reduction in energy, materials and toxicity from cradle-to-cradle-to grave. To achieve this, standard concepts of design, development or market strategy will not apply. Based on the experiments of the Vision 200, made in the summer of 2008, the goal for the next summer is to assemble a second prototype, the Vision GT. The prototype will be set in to do some drive and durability tests.

The ‘VDS Groep T’ team of the International School Groep T in Leuven, Belgium works together with several universities and industries over the whole world to achieve the challenging goal. The team of Groep T consists of 14 masters of engineering students and is responsible for the motion and the frame of the vehicle. The electrical motor and controller board are considered as the innovative components for the Vision GT vehicle. To fulfill the motion, the team has chosen a SR motor because of his robustness, ability to overload and life-time. Already some first contacts between the Motor-group of PsiControl Mechatronics and the VDS Groep T team are made. As PsiControl has a lot of experience in design, integration and control as well in SR technology as in electronics, it is certain that we can push the VDS team forward to finally achieve the innovative vehicle.

Check out the website: http://www.vehicledesignsummit.be/ for more information about the project.

PsiControl Mechatronics hosts the Solar Team Event in Ypres

On Tuesday 7 October 2008, the Belgian Solar Team made an exclusive visit to PsiControl Mechatronics in our hometown of Ypres. The visit related to the HP Solar Tour, which will see the team travel across Belgium to generate awareness regarding the finiteness of fossil fuels. PsiControl Mechatronics represents the technology partner in the Solar Team and among other things provides support for the circuit design, as well as the production and quality control of the printed circuit boards for the solar car. As a result, PsiControl Mechatronics assisted the Belgian Solar Team’s swift crossing of the Australian desert without a single drop of fuel during the World Solar Challenge 2007, the annual world championship for solar-powered cars in Australia. The Solar Team Event, which was hosted by PsiControl Mechatronics, began with a demonstration of the solar team at the Ypres market square for the benefit of the general public. The team focused on promoting the advantages of generating electricity without any noise hindrance, pollution, disturbing of the ecosystems and without the need to take up too much space. The event was attended by hundreds of local visitors (including students from various schools that were invited) and the local press. Following the public event, PsiControl Mechatronics held an internal session at its premises for our employees and Belgium/France-based.