Content originally published by Automation Alley

For the last 30 years, Michigan State University and the U.S. Army Ground Vehicles Systems Center have collaborated to develop advanced ground vehicle technologies and create innovative solutions to existing challenges. One of the success stories of this collaboration was the establishment of the Composite Vehicle Research Center at MSU in 2006 as a center of excellence for the research, design, and implementation of composites for lightweight, durable, cost-effective, efficient, and safe vehicles for air, ground, and marine transportation.

CVRC has the infrastructure, equipment, and expertise in the manufacturing, design, experimental characterization, and non-destructive evaluation of resulting components and structures. The novel manufacturing equipment at CVRC includes a robotic-tailored fiber placement machine, an additive manufacturing (AM) process, that enables rapid manufacturing of structural components. CVRC has successfully produced lightweight composite ducts, components for battery enclosures, and other automotive structural components. The relationship between AM printing parameters and resulting mechanical properties is evaluated through static, fatigue and impact tests. Digital twins are developed that are experimentally validated and further used to explore the design space to find the most optimal designs.

In the last year, GVSU and MSU successfully launched a new mobility research initiative as part of a five-year research program to advance autonomous ground vehicle research. This initiative has built upon MSU’s history and leadership in the mobility sector. Researchers at MSU Mobility and the College of Engineering focus on a systems engineering approach to combine ‘state-of-the-art technologies’ from multiple fields to demonstrate the art of the possible in the design and manufacturing of autonomous vehicles. The five-year goal is to develop a prototype that will enhance the safety and stability of lightweight autonomous vehicles while they operate in uncertain environments, such as rough terrain.

Priorities this year include developing better stability and control systems for lightweight vehicles on uneven terrain; electric vehicle battery packs that are lightweight, safe and can be used at low temperatures; light-weight, fault-tolerant electric drive trains and power electronics; in-situ sensing and measurements of soil/terrain data as feedback to enhance stability and control, and radio frequency antennas and electronics for communicating and sensing information that are hidden and embedded within the body of the vehicle.

This initiative also provides opportunities for undergraduate researchers, graduate students and postdoctoral researchers to gain new skills and hands-on real-world experience before they graduate from college.

The research conducted and technologies developed through this initiative will create the technological edge in autonomous mobility used to ensure national security and strengthen the commercial U.S. automotive industry.

The project will accelerate the development and deployment of multiple technologies by demonstrating proof of concepts on a prototype. More importantly, we are preparing and creating the future STEM leaders and next-generation workforce in these critical fields that will enable the state and the nation to maintain competitiveness and leadership in this crucial automotive industry.