Electric machinery parts manufacturing in industry 

This guide delves into DFM's principles, implementation process, impacts, and challenges, aiming to provide readers with a comprehensive understanding of this integral concept.

Enhancing Industrial Processes through Design for Manufacturing: A Comprehensive Guide

<h2 id="isPasted">Some Historical Perspective</h2>The relationship between physical engineering and the programmable computer is as old as the computer itself. The reality is that, for most of us, crunching lots of numbers by hand is frustrating, time-consuming, and error-prone.The British government of the 1820s agreed, opting to fund the early development of Charles Babbage&#39;s difference engines. These were visually striking machines: large mechanical computers, some capable of solving 7th order polynomials, that were intended to dramatically reduce the cost of production of tabulated trigonometric and logarithmic functions &mdash; the kind that were incredibly useful to scientists, engineers and navigators in the immediate aftermath of the Industrial Revolution.Fast forward to 1945, and we see the first glimpse of modernity: IBM&#39;s ENIAC, the world&#39;s first programmable, electronic, general-purpose digital computer. If you&#39;re curious as to what was it designed for, the answer is the computation of artillery and mortar firing tables; a task that involves exactly the kind of Newtonian mechanics calculations that will be familiar to any undergraduate mechanical or aerospace engineering student (see: Mayevski&#39;s <a href="https://books.google.co.uk/books/about/Trait%C3%A9_de_balistique_ext%C3%A9rieure.html?id=jE_zAAAAMAAJ&redir_esc=y" target="_blank">Trait&eacute; de balistique ext&eacute;rierure&nbsp;</a>, or the US Army Ballistic Research Laboratories&#39; <a href="https://asset-pdf.scinapse.io/prod/77299953/77299953.pdf" target="_blank">The Production of Firing Tables for Cannon Artillery</a>).Just a decade or so after ENIAC, IBM drew up its first specifications for a new programming language, The IBM Mathematical Formula Translating System, familiar to many of us as FORTRAN. Developed expressly for science and engineering, FORTRAN is a true titan of the scientific computing world. If you&#39;ve ever fired up MATLAB, analysed a load-case with an <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Finite_element_method" target="_blank">FEA</a> package, or run some new geometry in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computational_fluid_dynamics" target="_blank">CFD</a> &mdash; then it&#39;s almost certain that FORTRAN is involved in that stack somewhere, even six or seven decades on.<hr><h2 id="isPasted">Why Software Matters For Hardware</h2>The advantages of using digital computers in the physical engineering disciplines are both marked and multifarious, and I hope somewhat obvious.At a low level, these advantages can be quite straightforward. They include things like providing engineers with the ability to perform large numbers of calculations with little to no risk of human error. Think of something like repeated matrix multiplication, perhaps as part of a kinematics problem. How confident would you be in getting every step of that calculation right, without accidentally picking up a value one row down or one column across from where you intended? Thankfully, with the help of a few lines of FORTRAN, MATLAB, or Python, the computer can perform these calculations on your behalf, perhaps billions of times, without the threat of inconsistency or human error. At least... <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pentium_FDIV_bug" target="_blank">almost all of the time.</a>At a higher level, however, these advantages are even more pronounced. They are the culmination of decades of work across several disciplines; the output of engineers, scientists and mathematicians who have designed, implemented, and shared computational techniques that address a myriad of challenging problems &mdash; from solving partial differential equations at scale, enabling modern FEA and CFD, through to the development of boundary representation solid modelling techniques that enable modern CAD systems. The convergence of these technologies has revolutionised engineering; accelerating development cycles, reducing the need for physical testing, and helping the world&#39;s engineers improve the quality and performance of everything from ships to spacecraft.As an illustration, think of the draughting process. For many engineering professionals who started their careers prior to the 1990s, draughting work would have still involved a drawing board, pens, and paper, cellulose, and/or linen. In the event of a mistake, the draughtsperson would have had to break out the scalpel or Tipp-Ex to &#39;erase&#39; the error, or issue an entirely separate drawing amendment to be paired with the original documents. With modern CAD systems, minor drawing modifications completed prior to release go completely unnoticed, and subsequent amendments can be as simple as a quick tweak and a brief change order &mdash; no redrawing of anything, no folder of amendments.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjg1NTI3MDQ5MjY0LUhXRHJhd2luZ09mZmljZS5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><figcaption id="isPasted">The Harland &amp; Wolff Drawing Office, Belfast, at some point during the 1960s or 1970s. My father served part of his apprenticeship in this room a decade or two later. Maritime Belfast/National Museums Northern Ireland</figcaption>Better yet, imagine the difference in resource requirement and development cycle times for something like a turbocharger. If every minor tweak to blade or housing geometry requires an entire manufacture, assembly, and balancing routine before the new design makes it to the gas stand, every iteration will fall weeks behind and cost significantly more to explore than its simulation-driven counterpart &mdash; where a design change could make it to CFD in a matter of minutes. This is before we even consider the introduction of something like mathematical optimisation into this loop, where the responsible engineer could define their objective function, their variables, and their constraints, and conceivably let the computer play tunes with the geometry, feed that into the simulation, interrogate the results, then rinse and repeat until it reaches an optimum. Ultimately, well correlated models, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_models_are_wrong" id="isPasted" target="_blank">even if wrong</a>, are incredibly useful.<hr><h2 id="isPasted">Why Hardware Matters for Everyone</h2>So computers are wonderful tools, and so are the niche software packages we run on them, but so what? Well, I believe we now find ourselves at a critical point in both the trajectory of engineering as a discipline, and in its utility as a mechanism for improving our lives as a species. We have a lot of *very* active engineering fields right now, with a lot of important problems to address &mdash; and in the end, at some point, somebody has to actually make stuff to make things better.For example, it seems to me that we are standing but a few feet forward of the starting line in a new, privately funded space race. We have seen SpaceX engineers repeatedly achieve nothing short of a triumph of control engineering: reversing a rocket onto a barge in the ocean, opening the door to reuse, and as a result, both dramatically reduced space access costs and dramatically increased launch cadence. We have companies like SpinLaunch working to yield orbital access mechanisms that help escape <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition30/tryanny.html" target="_blank">the tyranny of the rocket equation&nbsp;</a>.We have a burgeoning paradigm shift in personal transport, with electric cars, scooters, and e-bikes encroaching further and further on the internal combustion engine&#39;s long-established territory.We have additive manufacturing evolving into a serious, cost-competitive manufacturing technique that can achieve geometries beyond the reach of traditional subtractive approaches, and we have generative design technology helping engineers produce mathematically optimised, often organic-looking solutions to pressing design problems. To see the power of these two in concert, just look at <a href="https://www.czinger.com/" target="_blank">Czinger</a> and <a href="https://www.divergent3d.com/" target="_blank">Divergent</a>.And, of course, we have ever more compelling incentives to overhaul the majority of our civilisation&#39;s energy infrastructure, pushing us to diversify the means by which we generate electricity, fostering the development of improved wind, solar, and &mdash; I hope &mdash; nuclear technologies.In short, we&#39;ve got a lot of real-world engineering to tackle, and plenty of hardware to build.<hr><h2 id="isPasted">Software is Eating the World</h2>Ultimately, it strikes me that the way in which we develop the physical systems around us is changing, and not all our tools yet accommodate this.Despite the arrival of an entire range of engineering software systems in the latter part of the last century, these were typically specialised products, often designed to form improved but effectively like-for-like replacements of an existing way of accomplishing a given task, whether that was replacing the draughtsman and his drawing board with a CAD workstation, or replacing a complex, <a href="https://twitter.com/CalumDouglas1/status/1550594001874698246" target="_blank">stiffness-altering oil pressure measurement apparatus&nbsp;</a>around a bearing with a CFD case.As a result, we find ourselves at a point where, as a profession, we&#39;re equipped with some extremely impressive tools; tools that can help us build the shorter iterative loops that are required to yield accelerated system development.However, it feels like we&#39;re still using these revolutionary tools, developing the technology that is critical to our species&#39; future, inside an operational framework that was designed for slide rules, drawing boards, and row after row of draughtsmen packing a tobacco smoke filled drawing office.Our systems are heavily siloed, our teams often fragmented. We struggle to collaborate across teams, sites, and time zones. We have vast and unstructured knowledge bases that are full of effectively undiscoverable data, put beyond the reach of those who don&#39;t know exactly where to look. And we struggle for visibility &mdash; of tasks, responsibilities, upcoming changes, and most importantly, of our data.Even the big players recognise this. Dassault push <a href="https://discover.3ds.com/reduce-non-value-added-work" target="_blank">research</a> that shows engineers spend 34% of their time performing &#39;non-value-added&#39; work; dominated by the amount of time spent just looking for stuff, trawling through network drives and cluttered inboxes. This same research shows that engineers are typically working with outdated information 20% of the time &mdash; imagine a full day a week, every week, for every member of your team, just being thrown away because of bad input data. This pattern has to change.In fact, for newer hardware companies, I think some things have *already* changed. <a href="https://a16z.com/2011/08/20/why-software-is-eating-the-world" target="_blank">Software is eating the world&nbsp;</a>applies not only to the electronic control of fuel injectors and ignition coils, but to the adoption of software-like management practices, with a focus on short design-build-test loops. I may hate the confusing, jargon-heavy nomenclature of &#39;agile&#39; methodology, but there is some method in the madness.<hr><h2 id="isPasted">Better, More Collaborative Software for Engineering Teams</h2>The future that I see is one where we not only have specialised tools for specific parts of the engineering cycle, but we have a central, engineering specific hub; an operating system that ties these things together.We want to see the world&#39;s physical engineering teams build better products faster; to achieve shorter development cycles, to iterate faster, and to better leverage their internal knowledge &mdash; so that they can achieve their goals, whether that&#39;s kinetic launch, faster cars, or greener energy.We think this will be brought about by transforming how hardware teams communicate, collaborate, and manage technical knowledge. That means better, more connected software; software that focuses on resolving the productivity-killing shortfalls in current engineering process. We think hardware teams should have technical communication mechanisms that are fast, painless, and traceable; that allow new hires to find the information they need, without requiring someone else to go rooting through their inbox for half an hour. We think engineers should be able to see what colleagues are working on, how these items are prioritised, and what&#39;s coming next. We think engineers should be able to annotate drawings, share calculations and schematics, and offer opinions on proposed solutions &mdash; all in real-time, wherever they are, with all that data stored and indexed for easy discoverability down the line.&nbsp;Above all, we think engineers should have a single source of truth to work with; a repository of version-controlled design values, simulation outputs, and performance targets &mdash; whether those are scalar values, or n-dimensional maps.In the end, what we want to see is engineering teams moving beyond the pain of e-mail ping-pong with spreadsheets and presentations, to stop scrawling performance differentiating IP over paper drawings that are destined for the shredder, and to start letting the computers handle the busywork.

Betty Jean Jennings and Fran Bilas at the main ENIAC control panel. Moore School of Electrical Engineering. U.S. Army, ARL Technical Library Archives

The recent history of our physical engineering disciplines is intertwined with computing. The future is too. 

The Future of Hardware is... Better Software

This comprehensive guide aims to provide engineers with a solid foundation in material handling automation concepts, technologies, and best practices.

Material Handling Automation: A Comprehensive Guide for Engineers

Process control is a strategy used to monitor and adjust control variables of industrial processes to achieve the desired output. Integration of artificial intelligence will help operators bring more accuracy to complex tasks. 

Understanding Process Control: An important technique for industrial processes

<h1 id="isPasted">Castellations: How to Use Them in PCBA Design</h1>Many advanced system designs have criteria that require mounting an existing module onto a new PCBA. The best approach is to use a solder interface called castellations or a castellated edge. Semiplated copper indentations along the side of a PCBA provide both electrical and structural mounting support for a board-to-board interface. There are several applications for this type of interface. We will review what castellations are, why they get used, and several design considerations for castellated edges.<h2>What are Castellations</h2>Connectors on rigid PCBAs do not use pins or solder balls. Instead, castellations bring the circuit nodes to the outside PCBA edges without any extra hardware. Copper traces intended for connection to the outside follow the board&rsquo;s edge. A hole gets drilled through the PCB within the copper trace. &nbsp;Its other names include annular rings or plated holes.When the board gets separated from the array, the PCBA will get cut along its edge through these openings, forming a partial copper cavity&ndash;a castellation&ndash;which is electrically connected within the module circuit. Using these copper castellations as solder connections, the module can attach to a larger system board.<h3>Why are Castellations Used</h3><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1667831150744-1667831150744.png" alt="castellated electrical connections" class="fr-fic fr-dii">Castellations provide electrical connections from one PCBA to another. Smaller boards often serve as modules that provide a specific function to the system. For instances such as FCC-certified RF radio electromagnetic frequencies that get tested to specific standards, this can be especially useful. In this way, each module can get tested for known operation before the final system assembly. Castellations also facilitate debugging during prototyping by bringing all module nodes into an accessible area. &nbsp;This facilitates an easy SMT process for mounting modules.<h3>Designing with Castellated Edges</h3><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1667831150616-1667831150616.png" alt="castellated edges" class="fr-fic fr-dii">PCBA design for castellations for SMT modules and system boards requires some minor planning. With some foresight, most CAD design layout packages can accommodate castellated edge designs.A normal via process applies for developing the castellated holes on the PCBA edge. Holes get drilled through copper plating traces that extend beyond where the board edge will be eventually cut. Once the edge is cut to separate the PCBA from the rest of the array, these vias will resemble semicircle copper cylinders that span the thickness of the PCBA. It is possible to create castellated holes using small cutouts and lead-in holes. &nbsp;However, the most common method is to cut a via within a copper trace in half.Design attributes for castellated holes include:<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1667831150855-1667831150855.png" alt="enig surface finish" class="fr-fic fr-dii"><ul><li>Use appropriately sized vias larger than 0.5 mm, if possible.</li><li>An ENIG surface finish is typically used for castellated vias to permit reduction of the diameters, but this design decision will depend upon the module&rsquo;s application.</li><li>To apply maximum solder paste to the top and bottom of the module, make sure you use the largest pad available.</li><li>Allow for the proper spacing of the break tabs at the interface between the edge of the PCB and the rest of the array</li></ul>PCBAs on which modules will be mounted must have a footprint that is large enough to accommodate soldering castellated edges. The pads should be the largest dimensions allowed by the layout tool since their purpose is not only for electrical connection to the system but also for the structural mounting of the module. The area beneath the module must be kept free of components and other through-hole mountings since the module must sit flush with the PCB. By using solder paste on the pads and solder masking where appropriate, the proper solder volume can be applied without the risk of cold or weak joints. Work with your CM partner during your project development to understand any other criteria needed for castellated mounting within your design for manufacturing (DFM) plan.<h3>Conclusion</h3><img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1667831150353-1667831150353.png" alt="conclusion" class="fr-fic fr-dii">Integrated functional modules can be produced on a single assembled PCB using castellations that can be stacked on a larger board for a second assembly. The castellations provide both electrical and structural connections for the module as an SMT device. The SMT assembly process for a castellated module is like that of other surface mount devices. Visual and electrical final test inspection can be accomplished on all castellated nodes after mounting, unlike other types of packaging with hidden pins.During the design process, ensure that large annular rings are used both on the surface as well as the inner layers to strengthen the structure of the interface. Work with your CM partner to establish the use of the ENIG surface finish for the best results. Finally, ensure that there is proper spacing for the break tabs that separate the PCBA from the array. This interface is critical to the success of the castellations.<h4>Let&rsquo;s Work Together</h4><a href="https://macrofab.com/rfq/?utm_content=four-reasons-your-electronics-development-team" target="_blank">Request a Quote</a>

With some foresight, most CAD design layout packages can accommodate castellated edge designs. 

Castellations: How to Use Them in PCBA Design

Wevolver, in partnership with <a href="https://growthgarage.mcam.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Growth Garage</a>, the business accelerator from Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials, Mitsubishi Chemical Europe, and &nbsp;Mitsubishi Chemical Methacrylates, invited engineers, designers, entrepreneurs, startups, companies, and students to submit their ideas, technologies, and products as part of the 2022 Circular Economy Challenge.&nbsp;The challenge looked for innovators throughout the plastics circular economy who want to make use of advanced low carbon footprint engineering plastics or have developed innovative recycling technologies for advanced engineering plastics.The challenge was open to participants in two key areas: 1. Recycling Technology and 2. Products &amp; Parts.&nbsp;The Circular Economy &nbsp;Challenge received over 60 entries from 17 countries. The Wevolver community vote had over 700 votes.&nbsp;Congratulations to all finalists and winners!<hr><h2 dir="ltr">The winner of the Circular Economy Challenge</h2><h2 dir="ltr">Category 1: Recycling Technology</h2><h3 dir="ltr">Jeosal Materials Research Corporation</h3>Canada<a href="https://jeosal.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a><a href="https://jeosal.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jeosal Materials Research Corporation</a> is a developer of economically viable, and ecologically sustainable solutions for the recycling and reuse of fiber-reinforced plastics from various sources including the automotive, aerospace, marine, and construction markets. Recovered products are channeled towards new applications in original or new markets.&nbsp;&ldquo;Our business model is designed specifically for the recycling of fiberglass from marine vessels and reuse of the recovered products. It has the added advantage of successful deployment for fiber-reinforced plastics from other sources.&nbsp;In this model, we rely on specifically modified and enhanced recovered fibres and resin powder for unusual end-uses to ensure an economically viable and environmentally responsible venture,&rdquo; describes Jeosal Materials Research Corporation&rsquo;s CEO, Osayuki Osazuwa.&nbsp;Jeosal Materials Research Corporation will receive $25,000 of support from Growth Garage and their partners to test the technology at scale and strengthen their business model.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjA2ODg0OTMwLUplb3NhbC1NYXRlcmlhbHMtUmVjeWNsZS1UZWNobm9sb2d5LmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 302px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Examples of the Jeosal Materials Research Corporation technology. Image credit: JMRC.<h2>The winner of the Circular Economy Challenge Category 2</h2><h3 dir="ltr">Internode</h3>United States<a href="https://www.intermode.io/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Intermode</a> manufactures and produces small robotic vehicles which they lease to customers for the purpose of automated delivery. The robots are designed to recapture some portion of their material value at end of life for reuse in future robots.&nbsp;&ldquo;Coming from an automotive background, I know interior and exterior engineers can choose a huge range of different plastics to best target cost per individual component, but that can lead to a series of plastics that are individually &quot;recyclable&quot; but extremely difficult and cost-intensive to do so without tearing it down to small pieces.&nbsp;We intend to engineer the vehicle to maximum value and performance over its life lifecycle. We&#39;ve designed the vehicle to be modular to easily break it down for recycling and keep materials pure for as long as possible,&quot; explains Internode Co-founder and CEO Arnolld Kadiu.&nbsp;&ldquo;We&#39;d like to investigate two different types of plastics. Structural fiber-reinforced thermoplastics to over-molded metal parts and UV stable thermoplastics to either thermoform or injection mold vehicle exteriors.&rdquo;Intermode will receive $25,000 of support from Growth Garage and their partners to build prototypes and work with the challenge partners to strengthen their business model.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjA3MTEwMDk3LU1vZGFsLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The Intermode robot. Image credit Intermode.&nbsp;<h2>Wevolver Community Vote winner</h2><h3>Wannes Van Laerhoven&nbsp;</h3>Belgium<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/wannes-van-laerhoven-a79596238/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Wannes Van Laerhoven</a> proposes a solution that recycles old tires and processes them into a filament suitable for 3D printing airless tires that can be used for various purposes.&nbsp;&ldquo;I have already done tests with a filament made from recycled car tires and the results are promising. There is good elasticity and better grip than on the other TPE and TPU filaments I have tested without the rubber from car tires. The print quality is also much better than expected and surface quality is even better than the filaments without added rubber. Even though it&#39;s 3D printed with FDM it is very hard to see the printed layers unlike the normal TPE shore 45D printed prototype.&rdquo;The airless tire can provide a good damping effect because the lattice structures used in the tire have good energy-absorbing properties. This causes a more enjoyable ride for applications in micro-mobility and mobility devices such as wheelchairs.&nbsp;Wannes Van Laerhoven will receive $10,000 of support from Growth Garage and their partners to develop their idea further and create a working prototype.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjA2MDE4NDc4LWFpcmxlc3MgdGlyZSAoMSkuSlBHIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The proposed airless tires. Image credit: Wannes Van Laerhoven&nbsp;<h2>Student Vote winner</h2>Wannes Van Laerhoven also won the student prize. He will receive a further $5,000 in support from Growth Garage to develop his project, create prototypes and strengthen his business plan.&nbsp;<hr><h2>The Circular Economy Challenge finalists</h2>The finalists of the challenge impressed the judges with their innovative designs and cutting-edge approach to the circular economy.&nbsp;<h3>AirGo</h3>An AI-assisted technology that accelerates the process of metal replacement reliably and quickly predicts the anisotropic properties of highly complex reinforced thermoplastic components.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjA2MDY3MDk5LUFpckdvLUF0bGFzICgxKS5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Examples of the prediction process: Image credit: AirGo.<h3>Diamond Hard Surfaces</h3>A low-temperature processing technology that enables the coating of thermoplastics such as PEEK, PEK, and Polyimide materials with a hard wear-resistant coating.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjA2MDc3NjkxLUNocmlzIEhfV2Fsa2VyX0RpYW1vbmQgSGFyZCBTdXJmYWNlcy5qZmlmIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">A coated object. Image credit: Diamond Hard Surfaces.<h3>Interface Polymers</h3>Polarfin&reg; diblocks connect dissimilar plastics in recycled plastic blends allowing the recycling of multilayer films and mixed plastics which are currently uneconomic to recycle.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjA3NDgxNDY0LTQuLVBvbGFyZmluLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The Polarfin&reg; diblocks illustrated. Image credit: Interface Polymers.&nbsp;<h3>RD Physics</h3>Remanufacturing loudspeakers using 3D printing. That means disassembling old loudspeakers and reusing the components in a new product.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjA2MTIxMDM1LW1pdHN1YmlzaGlfY29udGVzdF9SRFBoeXNpY3NWb3RpbmcuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">The recycled loudspeakers. Image credit: RD Physics.<h3>BCIRCULAR</h3>Provides a solution for the recycling of composite materials using an innovative, sustainable, energy-efficient, closed process that treats 100% of the composite materials to produce high-quality carbon fibers without releasing contaminant emissions.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjA3Njk2NjY1LTYuanBnIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Applications of the BCircular technology: Image credit: BCIRCULAR.&nbsp;<h3>3D Seed</h3>Recycles/grinds up recycled plastic which feeds directly into 3D printers - enabling objects to be created directly from waste.<iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pRpYYKXwqOg?&wmode=opaque&rel=0&enablejsapi=1&origin=https://www.wevolver.com" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable" data-lf-yt-playback-inspected-kn9eq4roawkarlvp="true"></iframe> <h3>Intermix Performance Materials</h3>A set of novel, highly potent compatibilizers to improve recycling efficiency for two of the most widely used plastic materials, polypropylene (PP) and high-density polyethylene (HDPE).<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjA3OTA3NzY4LXBsYXN0aWMtYm90dGxlcy5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><h3>The Fotostax Motion&trade;️ &nbsp;</h3>Instantly capture and print moving and 3D photos directly from your phone using a phone case printer. This product is designed to be modular and upgradeable and to use recycled materials.<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1655274710510-ezgif.com-gif-maker+%284%29.gif" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib"><h3>Healix</h3>Transforms used ropes and nets (HDPE and PP) from fishing and farming into pristine circular polymers for the global manufacturing supply chain.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjA2MjQxMTQ4LXdhbGRlbWFyLWJyYW5kdC0zTmNSbW04OFBiWS11bnNwbGFzaC5qcGciLCJlZGl0cyI6eyJyZXNpemUiOnsid2lkdGgiOjk1MCwiZml0IjoiY292ZXIifX19" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">Healix is tackling plastic waste from the fishing industry. Image credit: Healix.Wevolver will follow the winners and finalists as they advance their technology and products. Sign up for our newsletter and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/wevolverapp/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">social media</a> to get the latest updates.&nbsp;Thank you to everyone that entered the challenge, the jury, and the supporters.&nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">About the sponsor: Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials &amp; Growth Garage</h2>Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials is a leading global manufacturer of high-performance materials in the form of semi-finished products and finished parts. The company has locations in 20 countries and more than 2,800 employees. Its specialty engineering thermoplastics and composites are superior in performance to metals and other materials and are used in a wide range of applications, primarily in the capital goods industry. The company is continuously developing new areas of applications in close cooperation with industry leaders in a wide variety of customer markets. The Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials Group is well prepared to further expand its market leadership position.Growth Garage is a business accelerator program from Mitsubishi Chemical Advanced Materials. Our mission is to support and grow new ideas using our technologies and advanced engineering materials to help tackle some of today&#39;s biggest engineering challenges. We are offering the opportunity for engineers and innovators to pitch us their ideas and receive manufacturing support and services.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjU1MjIxNDA2NjIxLW1jYW0gbG9nbyBiYW5uZXIgYm90dG9tLmpwZyIsImVkaXRzIjp7InJlc2l6ZSI6eyJ3aWR0aCI6OTUwLCJmaXQiOiJjb3ZlciJ9fX0=" style="width: 300px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib">

The winning teams each receive manufacturing and business support to take their design to the next level.

Recycling wind turbines and modular robots: The winners of the Circular Economy Challenge.

Free space optical communication has attracted considerable attention from researchers for a variety of applications. Because of the complexity associated with the existing modulation techniques such as amplitude, phase, and frequency modulation, free-space optical communication systems use intensity modulation with direct detection [1,2]. Several applications such as wide-field lock-in detection for sensitive measurements, mode-locking in lasers, and phase-shift time-of-flight imaging (LiDAR) today require the intensity of the free-space signal to be modulated for a single frequency. However, specific applications typically require a particular frequency at which the signal should be modulated, but for many applications a higher frequency is desirable.&nbsp;Generally, these single-frequency free space intensity modulations should exhibit low optical insertion loss, high modulation efficiency, and a larger acceptance angle. Achieving all of these parameters at megahertz frequency can be challenging. For modulation at gigahertz frequency, the existing research work shows that Bragg cells-based approach has a narrow acceptance angle, electroabsorption modulators (using the quantum-confined Stark effect) have limited modulation efficiency, and Pockel cells (longitudinal and transverse) require bulky crystals. A team of researchers affiliated with the Stanford University, California and Chalmers University of Technology, Gothenburg have carried out work to design a new single-frequency free-space intensity modulator that can achieve a wide acceptance angle, a lower insertion loss, and improved modulation efficiency in the megahertz frequency range [3].&ldquo;Existing lidar systems are big and bulky, but someday, if you want lidar capabilities in millions of autonomous drones or in lightweight robotic vehicles, you&rsquo;re going to want them to be very small, very energy efficient, and offering high performance,&rdquo; explains Okan Atalar, a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering at Stanford and the first author on the new paper in the journal Nature Communications that introduces this compact, energy-efficient device that can be used for lidar.<h2 dir="ltr">Design of a single-frequency free-space intensity modulator</h2>In the paper titled, &ldquo;Longitudinal piezoelectric resonant photoelastic modulator for efficient intensity modulation at megahertz frequencies,&rdquo; the researchers have used a thin Lithium Niobate wafer coated with transparent surface electrodes to design a free space intensity modulator referred to as a &ldquo;longitudinal piezoelectric resonant photoelastic modulator. For intensity modular fabrication, the team used a 50.8 mm diameter, 0.5 mm thick double side polished Y-cut Lithium Niobate wafer. To deal with the trade-off between quality factors and acceptance angles, they choose to use an acoustic resonator. Lithium Niobate as the modulator material has suitable piezoelectric and photoelastic properties to construct an efficient intensity modulator with an acoustic resonator that is able to couple radio frequency into optical communication.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1650216661690-Experimental+characterization+of+the+modulator.png" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Experimental characterization of the modulator">Experimental characterization of the modulator [Image Credit: Research Paper]<div is-sapling-overlay="true" style='pointer-events: none; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 2px; z-index: auto; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 478.75px; height: 39px; width: 766px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; font-stretch: 100%; font-size: 14px; font-family: "PT Serif", serif; text-align: center; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: 0px; tab-size: 8;'> </div>&ldquo;Critically, lithium niobate is piezoelectric. That is when electricity is introduced through the electrodes, the crystal lattice at the heart of its atomic structure changes shape. It vibrates at very high, very predictable, and very controllable frequencies. And, when it vibrates, lithium niobate strongly modulates light &ndash; with the addition of a couple of polarizers, this new modulator effectively turns light on and off several million times a second,&rdquo; the team explains in the Stanford University blog post. &ldquo;What&rsquo;s more, the geometry of the wafers and the electrodes defines the frequency of light modulation, so we can fine-tune the frequency,&rdquo; Atalar says. &ldquo;Change the geometry and you change the frequency of modulation.&rdquo;In the experimental setup to demonstrate the intensity modulation, they coated the top and bottom surfaces of a double-sided polished LN wafer with tin oxide (ITO) to behave as transparent surface electrodes. To measure and verify the intensity modulation efficiency and that the acoustic mode profile matches the simulation, the coated wafer is placed between the optical polarizers along with a laser beam of 532nm wavelength is passed through the polarizer, wafer electrode region, and polarizer as shown in the figure.&nbsp;<img src="https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/wevolver-project-images/froala%2F1650216678886-ToF+imaging+using+the+modulator+and+a+standard+camera.png" style="width: 800px;" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="ToF imaging using the modulator and a standard camera">ToF imaging using the modulator and a standard camera [Image Credit: Research Paper]<div is-sapling-overlay="true" style='pointer-events: none; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 2px; z-index: auto; position: absolute; left: 0px; top: 478.75px; height: 39px; width: 766px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; font-stretch: 100%; font-size: 14px; font-family: "PT Serif", serif; text-align: center; text-transform: none; letter-spacing: normal; word-spacing: 0px; tab-size: 8;'> </div>The proposed design of the intensity modulator is used for a phase-shift-based ToF imaging of which the setup consists of a standard camera and a modulator. The targets in the scene at different distances reflect back to the receiver with different phases that are related to the distance, space of light in the air, and the intensity modulation frequency. A laser of 635nm wavelength is intensity-modulated at 3.733702 MHz and is used to illuminate the target. The proposed intensity-modulator is located between two optical polarizers. With the ToF imaging setup, the target distances are measured to centimeter-level accuracy.&nbsp;&ldquo;The impact for the proposed modulator is enormous; it has the potential to add the missing 3D dimension to any image sensor, they say. To prove it, the team built a prototype lidar system on a lab bench that used a commercially available digital camera as a receptor. The authors report that their prototype captured megapixel-resolution depth maps while requiring small amounts of power to operate the optical modulator.&rdquo;&nbsp;&ldquo;A future of small-scale lidar with standard image sensors &ndash; and 3D smartphone cameras &ndash; could become a reality,&rdquo; Atalar said noting the future works to reduce energy consumption by at least 10 times the threshold reported in the paper.&nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr">References</h2>[1] Jangjoo, A. and Faghihi, F., &ldquo;Intensity position modulation for free-space laser communication system&rdquo;, in Photonics North 2004: Optical Components and Devices, 2004, vol. 5577, pp. 825&ndash;833. doi:10.1117/12.567474.[2] Xiaoming Zhu and J. M. Kahn, &quot;Free-space optical communication through atmospheric turbulence channels,&quot; in IEEE Transactions on Communications, vol. 50, no. 8, pp. 1293-1300, Aug. 2002, doi: 10.1109/TCOMM.2002.800829.[3] Atalar, O., Van Laer, R., Safavi-Naeini, A.H. et al. Longitudinal piezoelectric resonant photoelastic modulator for efficient intensity modulation at megahertz frequencies. Nat Commun 13, 1526 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-022-29204-9

Lab-based prototype LiDAR system that captured megapixel-resolution depth maps using a commercially available digital camera

A new approach that allows standard image sensors to see light in three dimensions using a novel design for a single-frequency free space intensity modulator.

Acoustic modulator using a thin wafer of Lithium Niobate for free-space optics

This article is a part of&nbsp;our&nbsp;<a href="http://www.wevolver.com/student-program" id="isPasted" target="_blank">University Technology Exposure Program</a>. The program aims to recognize and reward innovation from engineering students and researchers across the globe.<h2 dir="ltr" id="isPasted">Introduction</h2>The introduction of automobiles into the world inculcated innovation in many aspects of engineering, including design and manufacturing. Engineers worldwide continuously strive to develop cutting-edge technologies to augment the riders’ comfort traffic behavior and enhance safety and fuel economy. In the current scenario, advanced features, including forward collision, traction control, and lane change, augment the safety, whereas the fuel economy drive mode reduces the fuel consumption. &nbsp;Abbreviations:<div align="left" dir="ltr"><table><tbody><tr><td>ACC</td><td>Adaptive Cruise Control</td><td>ESC</td><td>Engine Speed Caliber</td></tr><tr><td>ACCSSP</td><td>Adaptive cruise control set speed profile (MPH)</td><td>IAS</td><td>Initial ACC Speed (MPH)&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>CAT</td><td>Cabin air temperature (℉)&nbsp;</td><td>IES</td><td>Instantaneous Engine Speed (rad/s)&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>DL</td><td>Deep Learning&nbsp;</td><td>IET</td><td>Instantaneous Engine Torque (Nm)&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td>EAT</td><td>External air temperature (℉)&nbsp;</td><td>IFCR</td><td>Instantaneous Fuel Consumption Rate ( 1E-8m3s-1)</td></tr><tr><td>ED</td><td>Euclidean Distance—Ideal EOP and Predicted EOP&nbsp;</td><td>LAT</td><td>Lateral acceleration &nbsp;( m.s-2)</td></tr><tr><td>EOC</td><td>Engine Operating Conditions</td><td>LOT</td><td>Longitudinal acceleration ( m.s-2)</td></tr><tr><td>EOP</td><td>Engine Operating Point&nbsp;</td><td>VLV</td><td>Vehicle level vectors</td></tr><tr><td>ETC</td><td>Engine Torque Caliber &nbsp;</td><td>YAR</td><td>Yaw rate (rad/s)</td></tr></tbody></table></div>Among the features integrated into the vehicle, the ACC system developed by [Labuhn and Chundrlik, 1995] played a vital dual role in affecting safety and EOC. The intricate concept of the ACC system is to produce controlled acceleration without disengaging the cruise in the user-defined proximity and strictly follow the user command of set speed. &nbsp;Also, we could conclude from the existing literature that activation of ACC results in lower fuel consumption. Therefore activating the ACC feature for traversing long trips would augment EOC.&nbsp;However, identifying the optimal ACCSSP by considering the dynamic state of the vehicle for a definite coordinate on the terrain is an unsolved, challenging task for engineers. Existing techniques rely on either one or two affecting factors as inputs to predict ACCSSP considered, but none of the researchers included all the factors in conjunction to the best of our knowledge.&nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr">Predicting the optimal ACCSSP by optimizing the EOC</h2>This research presents a novel methodology to predict the optimal adaptive cruise control set speed profile (ACCSSP) by optimizing the engine operating conditions (EOC) considering vehicle level vectors (VLV) (age, body parameters, environment, driver behavior) as the affecting parameters excluding traffic congestion information. This work investigates engine operating conditions (EOC) criteria to develop a predictive model of ACCSSP in real-time. We used real-world field data obtained from Cadillac test vehicles driven (retrieved from Controller area network) by activating the ACC feature for developing the DL model. We developed a deep learning (DL) model using the NARX method to predict engine operating points (EOP - IET, IES, IFCR) mapping the VLV as shown in Figure 1. The conformance between the actual and predicted values validates the performance of the DL model, as shown in Figure 2.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQ1NzEwODM4MjM1LTE2NDU3MTA4MzgyMzUucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="eop-predictive-model-input-output">Fig. 2: Predictive model of EOP - Inputs and Outputs<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQ1NzEwODM4NzcyLTE2NDU3MTA4Mzg3NzIucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="eop-prediction">Fig. 2: Prediction of EOP - ACCSSP = 70 MPH, 2019 Cadillac XT6We used a realistic set of assumptions to estimate the VLV for the future time steps for the range of allowable speed values and applied them at the input of the developed DL model to generate multiple sets of EOP’s. We imposed the defined EOC criteria on these EOPs, and the top three modes of speeds satisfying all the requirements are derived at each second.&nbsp;Thus, three eligible speed values in the user-defined range are estimated for each second, and an additional criterion is defined to generate a unique ACCSSP for future time steps, as shown in Figure 3. A performance comparison between predicted and constant ACCSSP’s indicates that the predictive model outperforms constant ACCSSP.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQ1NzEwODM4MDA5LTE2NDU3MTA4MzgwMDkucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="accssp-prediction">Fig. 3: Process - Prediction of ACCSSP<h2 dir="ltr">Results</h2>The plot of constant and predicted ACCSSP is shown in Figure 4. The engine performance was defined by the euclidean distance of the operating and ideal EOP (ED) and engine torque and speed caliber [ETC, ESC]. The measure of these parameters for the predicted and constant ACCSSP is shown in Figure 5.&nbsp;<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQ1NzEwODM4MTIyLTE2NDU3MTA4MzgxMjIucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="predicted-ACCSP">Fig. 4: Predicted ACCSSP - Initial ACC Speed = 70 MPH, Cadillac XT6<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQ1NzEwODM4NDQzLTE2NDU3MTA4Mzg0NDMucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="eoc-parameters">Fig. 5: EOC Parameters - [ETC, ESC, ED], Cadillac XT6<h2 dir="ltr">Conclusion</h2>This novel algorithm could potentially act as a new feature in the vehicle which enhances the vehicle performance obliging the command of the driver.&nbsp;<h2 dir="ltr">About the University Technology Exposure Program 2022</h2>Wevolver, in partnership with <a href="https://mouser.com/" target="_blank">Mouser Electronics</a> and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.ansys.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ansys</a>, is excited to announce the launch of the University Technology Exposure Program 2022. The program aims to recognize and reward innovation from engineering students and researchers across the globe. Learn more about the program <a href="http://www.wevolver.com/student-program" target="_blank">here</a>.<img src="https://images.wevolver.com/eyJidWNrZXQiOiJ3ZXZvbHZlci1wcm9qZWN0LWltYWdlcyIsImtleSI6ImZyb2FsYS8xNjQ1NzEwODM4MjgzLTE2NDU3MTA4MzgyODMucG5nIiwiZWRpdHMiOnsicmVzaXplIjp7IndpZHRoIjo5NTAsImZpdCI6ImNvdmVyIn19fQ==" class="fr-fic fr-dii" alt="university-technology-exposure-program-mouser-ansys"><h2 dir="ltr">References</h2>Kolachalama S, Malik H. Predictive Model of Adaptive Cruise Control Speed to Enhance Engine Operating Conditions. Vehicles. 2021; 3(4):749-763. https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles304004

This research predicts the adaptive cruise control set speed profile in the user-defined range for the future time steps, optimizing the engine operating point (EOP) in real-time. The prediction of EOP was made by a deep learning model using all the parameters affecting the engine performance. 

Predictive Model of Adaptive Cruise Control Speed to Enhance Engine Operating Conditions

In the field of self-driving cars, algorithms for controlling lane changes are an important topic of study. But most existing lane-change algorithms have one of two drawbacks: Either they rely on detailed statistical models of the driving environment, which are difficult to assemble and too complex to analyze on the fly; or they&rsquo;re so simple that they can lead to impractically conservative decisions, such as never changing lanes at all.At the International Conference on Robotics and Automation tomorrow, researchers from MIT&rsquo;s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) will present a new lane-change algorithm that splits the difference. It allows for more aggressive lane changes than the simple models do but relies only on immediate information about other vehicles&rsquo; directions and velocities to make decisions.&ldquo;The motivation is, &lsquo;What can we do with as little information as possible?&rsquo;&rdquo; says Alyssa Pierson, a postdoc at CSAIL and first author on the new paper. &ldquo;How can we have an autonomous vehicle behave as a human driver might behave? What is the minimum amount of information the car needs to elicit that human-like behavior?&rdquo;Pierson is joined on the paper by Daniela Rus, the Viterbi Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Sertac Karaman, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics; and Wilko Schwarting, a graduate student in electrical engineering and computer science.&ldquo;The optimization solution will ensure navigation with lane changes that can model an entire range of driving styles, from conservative to aggressive, with safety guarantees,&rdquo; says Rus, who is the director of CSAIL.One standard way for autonomous vehicles to avoid collisions is to calculate buffer zones around the other vehicles in the environment. The buffer zones describe not only the vehicles&rsquo; current positions but their likely future positions within some time frame. Planning lane changes then becomes a matter of simply staying out of other vehicles&rsquo; buffer zones.For any given method of computing buffer zones, algorithm designers must prove that it guarantees collision avoidance, within the context of the mathematical model used to describe traffic patterns. That proof can be complex, so the optimal buffer zones are usually computed in advance. During operation, the autonomous vehicle then calls up the precomputed buffer zones that correspond to its situation.The problem is that if traffic is fast enough and dense enough, precomputed buffer zones may be too restrictive. An autonomous vehicle will fail to change lanes at all, whereas a human driver would cheerfully zip around the roadway.With the MIT researchers&rsquo; system, if the default buffer zones are leading to performance that&rsquo;s far worse than a human driver&rsquo;s, the system will compute new buffer zones on the fly &mdash; complete with proof of collision avoidance.That approach depends on a mathematically efficient method of describing buffer zones, so that the collision-avoidance proof can be executed quickly. And that&rsquo;s what the MIT researchers developed.They begin with a so-called Gaussian distribution &mdash; the familiar bell-curve probability distribution. That distribution represents the current position of the car, factoring in both its length and the uncertainty of its location estimation.Then, based on estimates of the car&rsquo;s direction and velocity, the researchers&rsquo; system constructs a so-called logistic function. Multiplying the logistic function by the Gaussian distribution skews the distribution in the direction of the car&rsquo;s movement, with higher speeds increasing the skew.The skewed distribution defines the vehicle&rsquo;s new buffer zone. But its mathematical description is so simple &mdash; using only a few equation variables &mdash; that the system can evaluate it on the fly.The researchers tested their algorithm in a simulation including up to 16 autonomous cars driving in an environment with several hundred other vehicles.&ldquo;The autonomous vehicles were not in direct communication but ran the proposed algorithm in parallel without conflict or collisions,&rdquo; explains Pierson.&nbsp;&ldquo;Each car used a different risk threshold that produced a different driving style, allowing us to create conservative and aggressive drivers. Using the static, precomputed buffer zones would only allow for conservative driving, whereas our dynamic algorithm allows for a broader range of driving styles.&rdquo;This project was supported, in part, by the Toyota Research Institute and the Office of Naval Research.

At the International Conference on Robotics and Automation tomorrow, researchers from MIT’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) will present a new lane-change algorithm.