Team P’s AEV Model: ”The Cat Bus”
Final Model Profile View
(Cat Bus Logo courtesy of Silhouette Decals Storefront at amazon.com (1))
Team P’s Final AEV design is the result of extensive research and experimentation in the areas of vehicle function, programming, energy consumption, safety features, structure, and aesthetics. It incorporates the critical aspects of a reliable public transportation vehicle into a visually appealing and energy efficient model. The following highlights the key features this design that places it above competitors.
>Precision<
The stability of the ”Cat Bus” is thanks to its light weight and even load distribution. In comparison to a horizontally oriented designs that may utilize more parts and may struggle more with the placement of components symmetrically on the base, this vertical design used relatively few parts and aligns the weights of the components for maximum stability on the track, at a cost very comparable to the competitor.
Cat Bus Approx.Weight: 0.34 lb Horizontal Competitor: 0.80 lb
Cat Bus Approx. Cost: $160,000 Horizontal Competitor: $155,000
This design’s utilization of power braking as the main form of stopping provides great consistency in the stopping locations for specific trips. In comparison to the competitors’ usage of coasting to stop their vehicle, this model’s shows minimal deviation in between stopping location, contributing to the overall safety and reliability that a full scale model would provide to the general public.
>Aerodynamic Design<
This vehicle exhibits a more sleek, sophisticated, and unique layout than conventional horizontal models. The vertically oriented base and components of the vehicle cuts through the air greatly contributes to its aerodynamics and results in minimal wind resistance, an upgrade from the heightened wind resistance that may accompany a vehicle with no front component with which to divide air currents. This feature, as well as the lighter weight and load distribution mentioned previously, contributed to an energy output significantly lower in trips made with this model compared with a typical horizontal model, the blue line representing the teams model while the red line representing its competitor.
Aside from the benefits to function and efficiency, the design is aesthetically pleasing and minimalist, Its small frame and speed are reflective of the animal of inspiring its name, “Cat Bus”, and makes it a vehicle that seamlessly fit into the innovative and modern vision of the Smart City Columbus Initiative in terms of visual appeal.
>Maintenance Accessibility<
System failures of public transit systems can not only cause inconvenience to the public using them, but can also pose a safety threat. This is why this model was built to have easy access to the Arduino, motors, and other components, providing more space to perform higher quality maintenance and fixes to any structural or programming issues. As illustrated in the profile photo of the vehicle, the components of the vehicle were a lot more visible viewing them at eye level, and extracting data from the Arduino can can be obtained out of range of other components and of the support arm. In a full scale model, it would be important to have an easy to access system layout so any needed repairs could be completed quickly and successfully. This may not be as possible with horizontal design, in which limited space may require the hardware to be stored within the hood that is necessary for higher mobility, as mentioned previously of horizontal models.
The aerodynamic features of The Cat Bus model reduces the need for a hood and allows the components to be placed in the most favorable orientation on the vehicle.
>Speed<
All of these previous features of this model lends to a higher speed of travel at lower energies. Upon final testing of this model, the average speed in a standardized experimental run was 45.78 seconds. This is a higher speed than many of its competitors, in the same environmental setting, such as Team H’s Model running a 57.07 seconds total.(2) and models from other tested reaching over a minute in length. This speed factor allows for the necessary efficient transportation of the public back and forth into and out of the city of Columbus, and places it at a high ranking for this feature among other designs.
(2)Citation to Team H’s Final Test data can be found in the references section.