DESIGN & SIMULATED TEST: AUTOMOTIVE
The practical meets the academic to provide
benefits for automotive SMEs
Virtual automotive hub slashes testing time
UK SMEs and academics can nowaccess vehicle testing equipment and simulation in real time thanks to a virtual network created by the Advanced Propulsion Centre and its Spoke community
T
he Advanced Propulsion Centre’s (APC) Spoke community has launched what it claims is the world’s first network of virtual testing facilities, allowing the
automotive industry to significantly cut the R&D process of low-carbon technologies. This is expected to significantly cut costs, enabling innovative SMEs to thrive. The ground-breakingMulti User
Systems Testing Environment for Research programme, known asMuster, uses advanced hardware-in-the-loop technology to connect each of the six APC Spoke sites. This allows SMEs and academics across the UK to virtually access a full suite of vehicle testing equipment and simulate an entire powertrain in real time. A £3.5mproject funded through APC
working with industry,Muster removes the financial and logistical barriers often faced by SMEs developing new technologies. It gives smaller organisations access to the latest physical and virtual testing equipment, and allows themto test prototypes early in the development stage, saving time and cost. The open access systemis also designed to give SMEs the edge and remain competitive, helping their innovations to reach the commercial stage. “Our Spoke community brings together
academia and industry to share best practice, expertise and facilities in the UK,” says chief executive of APC, Ian Constance. “True to this ethos,Muster will provide open access to an infrastructure of six major test facilities throughout the UK, significantly reducing research and development time and costs, allowing SMEs to becomemore competitive and engage with academia, while providing the UK with unique facilities to attract further investment fromresearch companies around the globe.” APC’s Spoke community consists of
more than 490 industrial and academic organisations and is coordinated by six
universities – Bath, Brighton, Loughborough, Newcastle, Nottingham andWarwick. Five of the Spokes are centres of excellence for an aspect of future powertrain development, including electrical energy storage, internal combustion engines, and systems, efficiency and power electronics. While the Digital Engineering and Test
Spoke, led by Loughborough, aims to bring the latest in digitalmodelling to half the time and cost of bringing these technologies tomarket, the combination of physical and virtual testing equipment that each Spokemakes available through Muster will be relevant to its specialism. EE
34 /// Environmental Engineering /// April 2017
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