The Formula Racing Team from National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University (NYCU Vulpes Racing) was invited by memory brand Kingston to showcase their latest generation Formula E race car at COMPUTEX 2024, attracting attention from many visitors. The team also disclosed the research and development process of the autonomous race cars, which rocked the room.
The latest generation Formula E race car, showcased at COMPUTEX 2024, took nearly two years to develop. Compared to previous models, it adds multi-sensors, paving the way for future development and research of autonomous race cars. In addition, the team improved the aerodynamic kits regarding the car’s appearance and system to enhance the flow field performance.
Since the autonomous car team was established at the end of 2023, it has brought together professionals from fields such as Electronic Engineering, Computer Science, and business management. This diversity in knowledge, skills, and perspectives brings a wealth of creativity to the team, showcasing the immense potential of interdisciplinary collaboration. The team has completed the concept verification for object detection, path planning, and vehicle control in the simulated environment. Adopting LiDAR technology, autonomous race cars reach an average speed of up to 5m/s in the simulated environment. In the next phase, the team plans to speed up the vehicles to 10 m/s and introduce the camera and visual identity technology to enhance the perception and reaction speed of the autonomous cars to accelerate the vehicle further.
NYCU Vulpes Racing was founded in 2008, and despite facing financial constraints, a group of passionate college students revived the car manufacturing plan in 2020. They rolled out the fuel-powered race car and won the first prize in the Taiwan Student Formula Racing League in 2021. Following their success, the team began exploring electric race cars and planned to participate in the Taiwan Student Formula Racing League in August 2024. At the end of this year (2024), they aim to participate in the prestigious Formula SAE (FSAE) in Australia, known as the Olympics of student engineering competitions.
The team members are students majoring in various departments, including engineering, business management, etc. The variety of knowledge, skills, expertise, and perspectives held by each member will bring more creativity to the team, which adequately demonstrates the great possibilities for interdisciplinary cooperation. One of the biggest challenges for the team is the funding. It entirely relies on students to seek support from the school and sponsorship of goods and funds from vendors. The team not only overcomes many obstacles but also invites seven Electronic Engineering and Mechanical Engineering professors this year (2024) to be the technical directors to improve technological strength substantially.
At COMPUTEX 2024, in addition to showcasing the latest racing car achievements, NYCU Vulpes introduce the development of autonomous race cars. The team also invites Dr. Chieh-Chih Wang, the Chief Digital Officer of Mechanical and Mechatronics Systems Research Labs (MMSRL) of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), to provide technical guidance, hoping to develop effective autonomous race cars in the future and win glory for Taiwan.
