Advisor:

• Todd Nelson

Description:

Purpose:

• Educate students for successful participation in evGrand Prix’s electric go kart race and autonomous go kart race.
• Supervise the Purdue evGrand Prix teams as they design, build, and test EV & autonomous systems.
• Maintain and oversee the $150k+ worth of equipment that evGrand Prix owns. Students will be working hands-on with motors, batteries, controllers, go-karts, sensors, and more.
• This class will focus on the technical aspects of electric & autonomous vehicles. It is encouraged that students have a basic understanding of programming since autonomous controls and machine learning are almost entirely software. These projects will also require mechanical CAD, 3D printing, fabrication, and other technical skills. Students must have the passion and patience for learning new technologies.

Objectives:

• Understand the various sub-systems of an electric vehicle and how to design an electric powertrain given real-world constraints. Students will have a thorough understanding of battery management systems, battery pack design, motor & controller tuning, safety controls, mechanical setup, and other key systems of an electric vehicle.
• Optimize vehicle controls & overall kart performance by testing parameters such as throttle maps, motor/battery current, signal filtering, acceleration limits, cell voltage limits, limp-mode applications, and many other parameters involved in designing an electric vehicle.
• Support the evGrand Prix program through the development of well-documented designs and educational material for High School & Collegiate teams.
• Investigate the fundamentals of deep learning with neural networks and how they are applied with TensorFlow.
• Successfully build and program a computer vision line-following RC-sized car.