Annual Report 2010-2011 - University of Cambridgedjc13/spip/SPIP Annual Report 2011.pdf · Annual...

Annual Report 2010-2011

Dr David Cole, SPIP Coordinator

Summary

The Student-led Projects and Industry Partnership facilitates interaction between industry and students involved in independent engineering projects in Cambridge University Engineering Department. In 2010-2011 the partnership comprised four industry partners and six student-led projects. The six projects made significant progress in their various activities, including participation in international competitions, development of new products and devices, and outreach to schools. Two formal events were held during the year, where the industry partners and students exchanged ideas and expertise.

2

supporting independent engineering activity in CUED

Student-led Projects & Industry Partnership

1. Introduction

Student-led projects at Cambridge University Engineering Department (CUED) showcase the initiative, technical brilliance and team-working skills of our best students. The projects are of great value in terms of: educational and personal growth of the students; seizing public imagination around the World, raising the profile of modern engineering; and developing some really creative engineering solutions The Student-led Projects and Industry Partnership (SPIP) exists to support student-led engineering projects in CUED and to facilitate interaction between industry and the students. Any independent student project with at least one student at CUED is eligible to bid for funding from the Partnership. The coordinator of the Partnership is Dr David Cole ([email protected]).

This report outlines the structure and operation of SPIP and describes the activities of the SPIP-supported projects during the academic year 2010-2011. Section 2 describes the industry partners. The financing is outlined in section 3. The SPIP events held during 2010/11 are reported in section 4. Annual reports from the SPIP-supported projects are given in the final section of the report.

2. Industry partners Industrial or commercial organisations may apply to join the Partnership if they wish to contribute to the student projects. All member organisations must make a minimum financial contribution to the Partnership which depends on the size of the organisation. In addition, organisations can contribute by offering mentoring, training, work placements, or other support. The industry partners in 2010-2011 were Boeing, BP, Jaguar Land Rover and National Instruments.

3. Finances The subscriptions collected from the industry partners are used as follows. Fifty percent is used directly to support the student-led projects; the division between projects is agreed by the partners and the Engineering Department. Thirty percent goes towards the funding of general facilities for the benefit of all the projects. The remaining twenty percent is used at the discretion of the coordinator to support the objectives of SPIP. Student projects are under no obligation to accept support from a particular partner, but they will acknowledge all support received in their literature. There is no restriction on organisations supporting student projects outside of SPIP, irrespective of whether the organisation is or is not a partner of SPIP.

3



3. Events

The coordinator organises two events each year for all member projects and industry partners. The events usually take place in CUED and are an opportunity for student projects to present their recent achievements and to bid for the funding available from the Partnership. All industry partners are also invited to attend Cambridge University Engineering Society's (CUES) Project Expo each year at which a wider range of small-scale student projects is usually on display.

Students, staff and industry partners at the SPIP event and Project Expo on 16 May 2011. SPIP event on 2nd November 2010. At the inaugural SPIP event held on 2nd November 2010 six student-led projects gave presentations and made bids for funding from SPIP. All six projects were awarded funds. The second event of the academic year was held on 16th May 2011 in cooperation with Project Expo. Each of the projects supported by SPIP gave a presentation focusing on the technical aspects of their work.

CUES sponsors, SPIP industry partners and Project presentation at the SPIP event on members of CU EcoRacing at Project Expo. 16 May 2011.

4



4. Student-led projects

4.1 Full Blue Racing Full Blue Racing (FBR) is the University of Cambridge Formula Student team and completed a successful 2011 campaign, competing in both the UK and German Formula Student competitions. The team bounced back after a tough 2010 where a disappointing result followed severe funding difficulties and the loss of the majority of the "old guard" to graduation at the end of 2009. Keen not to have a repeat, and bolstered with a team of nearly forty students, the team knuckled down, setting aggressive deadlines and an ambitious programme of car redesign. The team managed to reduce both the car's weight by nearly 30kg and finish early enough for testing, for the first time in the team's history. The team also won a monetary award from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, after a very competitive applications procedure.

FBR11 at a wet Hockenheim ring.

All of this was done on an engineering budget of around £3.5k, certainly one of the smallest in the paddock. Some competitors had budgets running into the hundreds of thousands of Euros. The only way the team managed to complete the car at all was by hard work convincing sponsors and local companies to partner the team and donate cash and materials. The number of sponsoring companies more than doubled in size this year to 29. The absolutely invaluable assistance of the Department's workshop team was also essential to success. The opportunity given by David Gould of Gould Racing to spend a week in his factory in Newbury fabricating carbon fibre pieces was an amazing help, and a great learning experience for the second year running. One of the highlights from the UK competition, held in Silverstone, was the team's performance in the "Business event". Here the team prepared a 25 page business plan and performed a presentation persuading a group of investors to invest in FBR as a "startup Autocross manufacturer looking to go to market with a prototype". The thoroughness of the presentation was commended and the team secured 18th position, out of nearly 100 universities.

5



In the Formula Student German competition at Hockenheim, the team had further success topping the table with an outstanding "real case" presentation scoring 37/40. The team had to calculate ways of "reducing the car's manufactured cost by 20%". The knowledge of manufacturing and design compromises were scrutinized in this event, and the ingenuity in driving down costs whilst maintaining quality of product was commended.

The big news however, was the success of the team in the dynamic events. After a tricky few days in the run up to the sprint, including a last minute downpour as the team was lining up to race, the car successfully finished the sprint in a respectable 91.339 seconds. Because of the unfortunate timing of the weather, sadly this time did not catapult the team to the top of the standings, but the team were ecstatic nonetheless. After as much time as possible spent on the test track in the intervening day the team entered the endurance competition full of hope. After a few gruelling laps, sadly the car failed due to a bolt shearing in the sprocket assembly. The team could hold their heads high though as only one third of the cars completed the endurance event, and out of the eight British teams only one made it to the end of the event. With a solid car for development for 2012, a large carry over in personnel and a much more secure financial situation, the team, more than ever is eager for the new season and design is already well into development. The team would like to thank all those who sponsored and supported the team over the year. Special mentions go to Platinum sponsor Johnson Matthey, and Gold sponsor Accenture. The Student-led Projects and Industry Partnership (SPIP) has been an enormous help, many thanks go to the companies involved; BP, Boeing, Jaguar Land Rover and National Instruments.

For more information: www.fullblueracing.co.uk

Participants in the Formula Student competition.

6



4.2 Cambridge University Eco Racing

CUER is a team composed entirely of students from the University of Cambridge who, in their spare time, design and build solar and electric powered racing vehicles. The team completed the 2011 Veolia World Solar Challenge. The car, named “Endeavour Mk II”, successfully battled bush fires and thunderstorms to complete the gruelling 3,000 km race across the Australian Outback, from Darwin to Adelaide. Over the past 18 months, the team estimates that around 17,000 man-hours have been poured into the car, which is the culmination of a number of Masters projects in Cambridge University Engineering Department. The CUER team was entering the race only for the second time in its short history and the car and team outperformed the other British entrant (Durham University) and performed at a similar level to some of the most recognized teams in the world.

Endeavour competing in Australia

The race this year suffered from poor weather conditions that meant 30 out of 37 entrants in the field (CUER included) were unable to travel the entire race distance under solar power alone. Endeavour II was only able to complete 1487km under solar power in the strict six-day time limit. The team was able to demonstrate levels of technical reliability and organisational competence that were significantly better than in 2009 and many of their fellow competitors. Furthermore, the professionalism of CUER was recognized by the event organisers who, at the closing ceremony, presented them with the award for the team that has displayed the highest standard of safe and consistent racing.

As a part of the celebrations of their new solar car design, CUER ran an international competition, for school pupils aged from 6 to 14, to design a car for the future. Their designs could use any technology, existing or futuristic, to make their car as ecofriendly as possible. The winners were Toby Harris (12- 14 years category), Jennifer Docherty (9-11 years category) and Peter White (6-8 years category). The overall winner was Peter White, whose design decorated CUER's car when it raced in Australia. Prizes were presented by guest

7



speaker Professor Jerome Meisel, Professor Dame Ann Dowling Head of the Department of Engineering, and CUER sponsors Intel and Schlumberger.

Removing the top half of the body from Endeavour.

Work has already begun on development of a much-improved car to enter the World Solar Challenge in 2013 and the team is looking to raise money to support its efforts over the next two years. For more information: www.cuer.co.uk

Exhibiting the car at Jaguar Land Rover (SPIP industry partner).

Those present include Bob Joyce (Group Engineering Director) and Andrew Foster (Chief Engineer, Body Engineering).

8



4.3 Cambridge Autonomous Underwater Vehicle

Cambridge Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (CAUV) is an undergraduate-led project based in CUED. It develops and operates AUVs - robotic submarines - for scientific research, with the goal that they should be small, modular and relatively low cost. The team enters the Student Autonomous Underwater Challenge - Europe (SAUC-E) every year. This provides some short-term targets and an opportunity to exchange ideas with other universities. SAUC-E attempts to stimulate progress in the areas of underwater technology and autonomy by challenging students to complete a series of missions based on activities that AUVs could be used for commercially. The tasks change from year to year, with no two courses being the same. This year the tasks included inspecting a pipe, surveying a wall, circling and then freeing a tethered buoy and tracking a surface vehicle as it moves around the arena. During a competition run the vehicle is not allowed to communicate with anything external, and tasks must be done consecutively without breaking the surface.

CAUV entered SAUC-E for the fifth year with their current vehicle, 'Red Herring'. It is a large, simple, robust vehicle, designed to be used as a software development platform while a highly integrated, user oriented vehicle is designed, manufactured and tested over a two year period. This was the second year Red Herring had been entered in SAUC-E, with the new hull due to compete in 2012. The CAUV team performed strongly all week, with Red Herring the first vehicle to enter the main harbour. The team was able to put to sea every day, a substantial improvement in availability over last year that resulted in a lot of very valuable software testing and data recording being accomplished. They qualified for the semi-finals and looked on course to progress to the final when unfortunately technical difficulties struck and they were unable to record a semi-final run.

The team lowers Red Herring into the salt-water ballasting

tank provided by the NATO underwater research center in Italy.

9



Despite this frustration the team was able to repair the problem and Red Herring was able to take to the water again the day after for further testing. Although not able to show off their full capabilities CAUV was awarded the prize for teamwork, with the team's discipline under stress and the co-ordination of such a large team (11 people) praised.

Red Herring sits, untethered, at the sea's surface. When the

signal is sent to dive, all radio contact is lost and the AUV must rely on its artificial intelligence software to complete its mission.

Over the summer, five members of the team were in Cambridge working on the design for the new hull. This was possible due to the generosity of ARM and Autonomy, who sponsored the students to cover the associated costs. CAUV would like to thank them, along with all its other sponsors, as the society is funded entirely through sponsorship and could not exist without this support.

For more information: www.cambridgeauv.co.uk

A CAD render of the new vehicle called "Barracuda"

10



4.4 Cambridge University Spaceflight

Cambridge University Spaceflight is a student-run society that was founded in 2006 by first year undergraduates Henry Hallam, Robert Fryers and Carl Morland and has grown from strength to strength since then. The team is now around ten members strong, composed of undergraduates from various disciplines. The members believe that just being interested in space as students is not enough, they are actively joining the new-space generation by designing and launching their own systems.

The aim is to develop the technology needed to reduce the cost of sub-orbital access to space for scientific research. This manifests itself in the form of high-altitude balloon launches, designing rockets, and other related experiments.

A recent rocket launch

The team also has a flourishing outreach program that encourages the next generation of scientists and engineers to take science education to a higher level. The team are regular attendees at the Cambridge University Science Week and similar events, where they build and launch rockets with schoolchildren. This year the team has been involved in a variety of projects. The team launched its latest rocket twice at a recent test day and successfully recorded data and recovered both times and the static test rig for the full-size rocket motors is near completion. The freshers' balloon project was a great success, setting a new UK altitude record of 36.2 kilometres and yielding some great photographs when it was recovered at the start of term. The team has been doing some work on Android phones, with a recent launch of software for recording balloon flights,

11



and development has been progressing on an app that will run on a satellite in 2012, following success in a competition run by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. Progress has been made on flight computers for both rockets and balloons with new radios and GPS technologies being developed this year. It is hoped to launch several more rockets next year including tests of final flight computer hardware and to start development on the high altitude rocket launch platform. For information: www.cusf.co.uk

Image taken from a freshers' balloon project at 36km altitude

12



4.5 Cambridge University Autonomous Flight

Cambridge University Autonomous Flight is an undergraduate-led project based in the Engineering Department. Its mission is to develop and operate UAVs – flying robots - for scientific research and area mapping, with the goal that they should be small, flexible and relatively low cost. This summer CUAF entered the International Micro Air Vehicle Conference, a competition for university students and researchers to develop the field of autonomous robotic flight. This provides the team with a series of short-term targets and goals and provides an opportunity to exchange ideas with other universities.

The pylon competition at IMAV

The tasks at IMAV change every year, with no two years being the same. This year the tasks included flying around two orange pylons in a figure of eight and exploring a small building, identifying objects inside it and removing them. The competition allows for three different levels of autonomy, remote control with no visual contact, autonomy of mission elements but with the user changing between them, and full autonomy with no user interaction between take-off and landing. CUAF entered IMAV for the first time this year, and as the society had only recently been founded it was decided to work with an off-the-shelf Parrot Ar.Drone, which allowed initial work on software without having to worry about the hardware implementation. This year the team is working on developing a hardware platform in conjunction with the software development to enable a transition from off the shelf devices to custom hardware. CUAF performed strongly in its first entry into the competition, coming third in the indoor exploration challenge, though software issues prevented success in the pylon challenge. CUAF plan to work on the software and hardware this year and hope to enter IMAV 2012, which is being held in Germany.

13



CUAF would not be possible without the generosity of sponsors; the main funding is given by four companies, Boeing, BP, Jaguar Land-Rover and National Instruments through the Student-led Projects and Industry Partnership. CUAF would like to thank them, along with all its other sponsors. For more information email [email protected]

Competing in the pylon competition

14



4.6 Engineering World Health

The aim of EWH Cambridge is to help improve healthcare in resource poor settings. It engages in many projects, working with collaborators in the UK or abroad. This year EWH Cambridge has grown from 1 to 66 members, with an active core group of roughly eight researchers. The emphasis this year has been to involve 4th year projects. The strongest and most important collaboration to date has been with Stephen Gerrard, a PhD student in the University of Cambridge’s Department of Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology. Stephen has been leading an open collaboration called JustMilk to develop a paediatric drug delivery device for the developing world. When Arron Rodrigues (3rd Year, Homerton) met with Stephen in November 2010, Stephen was working on chemical and pharmaceutical aspects of the system, but needed a group of people to work on the design of the delivery device itself. From this point, EWH Cambridge has reviewed relevant literature, including HIV and infant feeding; performed market reviews; and designed and built a test rig in the Chemical Engineering Department, with the support of National Instruments who supplied hardware and software. In addition, interviews have been conducted with lactation consultants, HIV specialists, and developing world clinicians. EWH Cambridge has also worked with a group of PhD and MPhil students on the iTeams programme, run by Amy Mokady at the Institute for Manufacturing, and worked with a team of Masters’ students on the Judge Business School’s ETECH programme to develop business models. Presentations have been given at Imperial College, Bath and Bristol Universities, and the IMechE.

Paediatric drug delivery system

Appropriate Traction is EWH Cambridge’s second largest project. Wesley Wroe (2nd Year, Homerton) sparked off this project, when he was contacted by a UK-trained doctor who was working in a rural hospital in South Africa. Wesley developed a greater understanding of the clinical “need” presented by the doctor. In developed countries, a large burden is placed on the medical infrastructure by trauma injuries. These trauma injuries can often arise from high speed collisions, which can lead to fractures of the femur (or “thigh bone”). In a hospital without adequate equipment these fractures can take more than eight weeks to heal. Such a long hospitalisation time places a high financial burden on the hospital, but can also lead to further complications such as pressure sores and infections.

15



The aim was to develop a system that would allow the patient to return home, to be cared for in a more suitable setting, while providing immobilisation and corrective forces to the fracture site. The goal was to reduce the high burden which these injuries place on the health systems of developing countries. From this point, EWH Cambridge sought to research the problem using as many diverse resources as possible. This research included; literature and market reviews; interviews with consultant orthopaedic surgeons with extensive overseas experience; and an outline business plan created by a group of MBA students, working on the Judge Business School’s ETECH scheme. Presentations were given at the Universities of Oxford and Bristol and at Imperial College. During a visit to discuss the Appropriate Traction project with Professor Chris Lavy at the University of Oxford, Yusuf Bhujwallah and Arron Rodrigues built a new collaboration with one of Prof. Lavy’s colleagues, Dr John Church. He is a retired consultant orthopaedic surgeon working on a non-powered scooter to allow single, lower-limb amputees to travel at “normal” speeds and improve their mobility. Sean Maguire (1st Year PhD, Emmanuel) is working to develop a low cost, low power GPS tracking device. This will allow anonymous data to be collected from users of the scooters over a fixed period of time in order to objectively assess the efficacy of the devices in improving amputees’ mobility and quality of life. The evidence provided by this trial will support Dr Church’s future search for funding, in order to scale up the device’s manufacture. For more information: ewhcambridge.org.uk

Scooter to improve mobility of lower-limb amputees

Annual Report 2010-2011 - University of Cambridgedjc13/spip/SPIP Annual Report 2011.pdf · Annual...

Documents

Transcript of Annual Report 2010-2011 - University of Cambridgedjc13/spip/SPIP Annual Report 2011.pdf · Annual...