VTE September 2023

VTE Published By:

Society of Automotive Engineers - Australasia

ABN: 95 004 248 604

Address:

VACC House

650 Victoria Street, North Melbourne VIC 3051

Phone: 0403 267 166

Email: info@sae-a.com.au

Web: www.saea.com.au

Membership & Subscriptions

Rose De Amicis

Email: rose@sae-a.com.au

Events

Suzanne Nicol

Email: events@sae-a.com.au

Board of Directors:

Adrian Feeney – CEO

Gary White – President

Greg Shoemark – Vice President

Mohammad Fard – Technical Director

Noi Vera (Kotev) – Dir Events/Training

Paul Nation – Director Treasurer

Marth Oplopiadis – Director Membership

Bernie Rolfe – FISITA & SAE Liaison

James Soo – Autonomous/EV Vehicles

Richard Taube – Board Director

Michael Waghorne – Dir Truck & Bus

Magazine Production: Editor

Mandy Parry-Jones

Trading Terms Media

Email: mandypj@optusnet.com.au

Mobile: 0409 806 986

Design

Brigid Fraser

Email: fraseram@optusnet.com.au

Mobile: 0413 009 122

Advertising

Jill Johnson

Jill Johnson Media

Email: jj@jilljohnsonmedia.com.au

Mobile: 0409 217 624

VTE Industry

Partner: Excellerate Australia

Gary White President

Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia

I am honoured to take up the role of Chairman and President of SAE-A, and I hope to contribute to the Society with as much enthusiasm as my predecessor Adrian Feeney. I am so pleased that Adrian continues as a director, CEO and leader of the Formula SAE program. Our Board Committee Chairs and all our members join in thanking Adrian for his wise leadership of more than a decade of service as President.

Adrian has been awarded Life membership of SAE-A at our AGM in June. This award is recognition of his significant contribution to the Society, its activities, and to the automotive industry.

I also warmly welcome our incoming new Board directors each also with important roles in the organisation. Paul Nation (as Treasurer), Noi Vera (Site tours and FSAE-A) and Martha Oplopiadis (Membership and Diversity). Their passion for automotive and their skillsets help them slot right into the team.

I note that Australian EV sales are accelerating, as consumers become more aware of the tangible benefits of EV ownership. Private owners can access EV purchase rebates, while companies and employees can benefit from the EV FBT exemption in salary packaging. I am seeing electricity suppliers offering very attractive plans tuned for EV owners who have in-home chargers. This all bodes well for continuing EV sales growth, now greater than expected by the more optimistic modellers of market growth. And good news, Australian EV manufacture is happening, beginning in the light to medium truck categories, and conversions. Those members who have attended our EV conversion seminars in WA and NSW got a glimpse of this

growing business model. Keep an eye out for a Victorian seminar in the coming months.

SAE-A is taking action in providing informative events that cover the EV phenomenon, but also many other aspects of automotive engineering that our members need to stay current. SAE-A has a full calendar of site visits, seminars, webinars and workshops the will excite members from all areas of the mobility industry. Please look at Suzanne’s announcements in this issue, and get yourself along to your favourites.

Please note that Rose is happy to receive your membership renewal payments, to keep you financially current, and giving you access to discounted member rates for all our events.

Professional Engineers Registration Schemes have been launched by various state governments, and we can announce that Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia has been approved as an assessment entity for the Victorian Professional Engineers Registration Scheme (PERS). You can now contact SAE-A for assessment and registration for Victoria as a professional engineer. You have until December to begin your registration process so professional engineers can continue to offer services in Victoria, and similar requirements are in force for other states. I encourage you to read the article from Greg Shoemark, and act early to ensure no disruption to your business.

And don’t forget! Our annual Formula SAE-A event for 2023 is on at Calder Raceway! We have over 40 entrants, ICE, EV and novel automated vehicles. Visitors are most welcome on certain days, so please contact Suzanne or Rose for details.

I hope you enjoy this issue of VTE.

Adrian Feeney Life Member of the SAE-A

The Society of Automotive Engineers – Australasia (SAE-A) has conferred honorary life membership on its long-serving chairman and voluntary CEO, Adrian Feeney.

The honour was presented at the society’s annual general meeting in Melbourne for his conspicuous contributions to the society. In presenting the award, SAE-A Senior Vice-President Greg Shoemark, said Adrian Feeney’s contributions to SAE-A were greater than most members could imagine.

From 2001 to today he has been deeply involved in organising the Formula SAE-A university motorsport event, and he has twice served as president of SAE-A.

After serving from 2013 to 2016, he was part of the team that led SAE-A out of voluntary administration, and he returned as president from 2017 until his retirement due later this year.

Since 2017 he has also served as voluntary CEO and has made good on his stated objective of “rebuilding the society and ensuring it remains relevant into the future”.

Mr Shoemark said Adrian had shown a lifelong commitment to furthering the profession of mobility engineering which had formed the foundation of his working life.

“Adrian embodies an inspiring enthusiasm and relentless dedication that set an example for all of us involved in the running of SAE-A,” he said.

“In his 21 years in the Formula SAE-A organising team, he has seen it grow in importance and transform into a showcase of the latest EV and autonomous vehicle technology.

New board members

Three new board members have joined the SAE-A board for 2023.

Paul Nation is a serving Army Officer with accumulated experience as a military vehicle technician, maintenance manager, trainer and automotive engineer across multiple locations and roles in Australia, Asia, the Middle East and the United States. Lt Col Nation holds a Bachelor of Engineering in Automotive Engineering from RMIT University, a Master of Science and a PhD from the University of Maryland, USA. Separate from his military career, he has established several engineering consultancy businesses in the Northern Territory offering specialist advice and services to government stakeholders, and various industries.

He is a Certified Practising Engineer, a Member of Engineers Australia and the Institute of Automotive Engineers, and a member of the Standards Australia QR-005 Dependability Committee.

“He brought the same commitment to last year’s APAC21 engineering conference – it was Adrian more than anyone who refused to be defeated by Covid and led us to a great success.

“SAE-A is truly fortunate to have had such a leader in recent years, and I am happy to report that Adrian will remain at the head of Formula SAE-A.”

Adrian Feeney started his career at General Motors Holden in 1976 in the Future Model Engineering Department and held numerous management roles including proving ground manager and engineering program manager before taking early retirement in 2013.

Martha Oplopiadis is an electrical engineer, with a major in Electronics and Data Communications, and is a global leader with experience operating at senior levels developing strategies to drive project outcomes in a complex stakeholder environment.

Ms Oplopiadis’ career spans 26 years within the automotive and rail infrastructure industries through roles she has held with major projects in engineering, project delivery and business readiness.

She has worked at Alstom, General Motors-Holden, Ford Motor Company and is currently program manager –commercial and project controls with Metro Trains Melbourne on the Metro Tunnel Project.

Noi Vera (nee Kotev) is a mechanical engineer with a passion for vehicles and academic excellence, who received four scholarships for her academic performance, fuelling her drive to seek as much hands-on knowledge as possible. Ms Vera completed four internships, including one based in China and one with SAE-A working on the zero emissions emergency vehicles project, aligning perfectly with her interest in the future of automotive.

She was active in Formula SAE-A during her university years, and also presented a paper on the use of Augmented and Virtual Reality in engineering at the APAC21 conference hosted by SAE-A last year. She is currently working as a graduate mechanical engineer at Supacat.

Gary White our new president

The SAE-A elected Gary White as its president, taking over from Adrian Feeney in a unanimous vote by the board.

Dr Gary White is a Chartered Professional Engineer, a Fellow of Engineers Australia, and member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

He has held engineering and leadership roles at GM-Holden and Kenworth Trucks, and worked in R&D with Scalzo Automotive Research Ltd, AutoCRC Ltd and Excellerate Australia Ltd.

Mr White has a passion for vehicle electrification, automation and infrastructure, he helped establish multiple Australian cooperative research centres and their R&D programs, worth more than $240 million.

He has overseen the scholarship funding of more than 120 post-graduate researchers and is a advocate for delivery of industryready graduates.

Mr White has served on Swinburne’s Mechanical Engineering Course Advisory Committee for 16 years.

Rose celebrates 40 years with SAE-A

As the SAE-A is nearing its centennial the society celebrated its longest serving member, Rose de Amicis who has been working with the SAE for 40 years.

Rose started at the age of 18 and was the SAE-A’s second employee. She has remained loyal to the society and its members ever since.

During August SAE-A past presidents, CEOs and work colleagues met in Melbourne to celebrate the occasion and thank Rose for her many years of work with the SAE-A.

The lunch was a surprise for Rose and her joy at being recognised for her tireless work was evident.

Over the 40 years, Rose has worked with 17 presidents and 14 CEOs including Don Clarke, Phil Bourke, Angela Krepcik and current CEO Adrian Feeney.

It is difficult to imagine the SAE-A without Rose in the office and even more difficult to manage even everyday tasks without her help.

Forty years of service means that Rose has covered a myriad of jobs and responsibilities and has met and come to know so many members over those years.

In the early days it was Rose who was responsible for all manual data entry and

Engineer assessments to be conducted by SAE-A

The SAE-A has been approved by the Business Licensing Authority (BLA) to conduct an assessment scheme in the area of mechanical engineering.

Mechanical engineers in Victoria are required to be registered by 1 December 2023.

SAE-A president Dr Gary White said the society expected applicants to come from the broad range of mobility engineering disciplines it represented.

“In addition to automotive engineers, we expect to look after applications from engineers in the aviation, rail, defence and other mechanical engineering sectors,” he said.

“Registration is required for professional engineers based in Victoria, regardless of where their clients are located, and engineers anywhere in Australia whose clients are in Victoria.

“There are exemptions, such as when an engineer is supervised by a registered engineer, and we can assist applicants in determining their obligations as well as their eligibility.”

Full details of the SAE-A PERS assessment scheme, including an online application form, are available at https://www.saea.com.au/pers.

billing, mailing the magazine and maintaining all the society’s records as hard copy files, on top of looking after the SAE-A reception desk and organising all the society’s meetings and training classes.

Harry Watson, who was president of the SAE-A from 2002-2006, did the honours and presented Rose with flowers and a ruby necklace to commemorate the occasion.

In his speech he detailed some of the work

that Rose has done, always behind the scenes, to advance the society; from manually recording and looking after records in the ‘old’ days before computers to managing students participating in Formula SAE, to organising meetings and reception.

There is very little work of which Rose has not been an integral part.

As Harry Watson remarked, Rose was and is the hub of the SAE-A.

Formula SAE 2023 Returns to Calder Park

13-17 December 2023

After many discussions with Winton Raceway, it was untenable for the SAE-A to conduct the 2023 Formula SAE event at that facility, which was unfortunate but unavoidable.

Mid-August Winton organisers advised the SAE-A that they needed to change the date of the event from 6-10 December to 13-17 December. This was less than ideal for the SAE-A, but the change was accommodated and promoted to teams.

However, later that month Winton advised the SAE-A that the cost of the event had risen significantly and negotiations to come to a more affordable cost were not fruitful. It was not feasible for the SAE-A to continue to hold the event at the Benalla, Victoria facility.

Calder Park revitalised

Years ago, the SAE-A held the FSAE events at Calder Park, which had many benefits but also some downsides as the track and facilities were becoming very rundown and at that stage there was no indication that the facility would be upgraded. This has all changed. Calder Park is the phoenix rising as it is being transformed and given a new lease of life by owners Rodney and Kim Jane under the direction of circuit manager Rowan Harman. The first phase of the regeneration has already occurred with a better surface on the main track, new seating, signage, painting, new undercover areas, with more upgrades to come.

Regular race meetings have now been held on the repaved surface, which is overlooked by a modern spectator area, featuring a significant quantity of new seating. The facility has

been developed to the standard required by Motorsports Australia (nee CAMS).

The management of Calder Park has shown itself to be very open to making improvements both short term for this year’s FSAE, as well as in the long term, which is very encouraging for our event.

Conveniently located on the outskirts of Melbourne

Based northwest of Melbourne, a quick trip of less than 20 kilometres or half an hour from Tullamarine airport and just 30 kilometres from the CBD. Calder Park’s closeness to both the airport and the city of Melbourne make it much more user friendly for teams.

Local teams can easily access their own facilities and even those teams from out of town are able to more easily source parts and equipment from major suppliers if needs be. Calder Park has been in existence since 1962 with the main circuit retaining a very similar shape to the current one.

In the 1970s Bob Jane purchased the facility and it flourished. In its heyday the venue hosted international events such as the Australian Grand Prix on five occasions in the

1980s, and a round of the World Touring Car Championship as well as many other race formulas including Superbikes.

The national circuit is 2.280 kilometres long with a shorter club circuit that is ideal for FSAE.

Volunteers you’re closer now

Being a volunteer offers you an excellent opportunity to experience the action with the students and see the latest global automotive technologies in play.

Join industry leaders, automotive enthusiasts, and students at FSAE at Calder Park Raceway for one, two, three or all four days.

Volunteers are supplied with on-the-job training, and receive a commemorative polo top and meals throughout their participation.

For more information about volunteering contact isaac.j.baldry@gmail.com or call +61 475 517 244.

For more information about Formula SAE visit www.saea.com.au or email formulasae@saea.com.au or call +61 403 267 166

Photos: cover and on this page – Geoff Colson www.colsonphotography.com.au

New Members

The SAE-A would like to welcome the following new members:

Professional Member

Fabian Alistair

Jacques Hickey

Shaun Holland

Martha Oplopiadis

Shahzad Qaisar

Amina Siskovic

Noi Vera

Liam Viskovich

Gary White

Timothy White

Student Members

Bhavinkumar Arya

Jim Belskyj

Daniel Bendotti

Akshaj Bhardwaj

Tim Bolton

Daniel Daldy

Ayden Davey

Declan Dooley

Has Gardige

Brenton Henry

Adil Ibrahim

Navod Imiya Arachchige Don

Grace Jopling

Harry Marshall

Lachlan Neville

Darby O’Meara

Michael Rotondo

Haw Ming Seow

Keeley Sermon

Charles Sewell

Lincoln Siu

Lucas Webb

Qingtai Wu

SAE International award nominations

Each year SAE awards celebrate exceptional individuals and teams for continually pushing the boundaries of technical excellence, innovation, and leadership.

The international SAE awards provide a powerful global platform to gain company recognition, boost team morale, and demonstrate your team’s technological and societal impact.

You can nominate an SAE-A member, nominations close on 30 September. Visit www.sae.org for more information.

Electric Vehicle Conversion Seminar WA

On Tuesday 22 August at Bibra Lake, WA

the SAE-A hosted an EV conversion seminar conducted by AEVA and Unique EVs. There were 35 attendees from the SAE-A. Then on 26 August ACE in Victoria hosted the SAE-A. “Thanks to you and the team

Coming events

at Kangan’s ACE for an excellent tour today. Everyone in the group was definitely impressed with the facilities and the professionalism of the training team, and I personally think ACE is one of Melbourne – Australia’s gems in education.” Gary White President SAE-A.

FEA & CFD Simulation Course Online – NOTE CHANGE OF DATES

Monday 16 October – Monday 23 October

An introductory course intended for all engineers and product designers who are new to simulation, or have an intermediate level of knowledge of the use of simulation.

Dolphin Products Facilities Tour

Tuesday 19 September 10.30am - 12.30pm Heidelberg West, Victoria

Dolphin specialises in plastic products. Dolphin provides turnkey solutions designing, tooling, manufacturing and assembling of complex products for medical, mining, defence, auto and industrial applications.

APV Test Centre Site Tour

Wednesday 4 October 6pm - 8pm Campbellfield, Victoria

APV has an advanced dynamic, static, crash and environmental test facility. Visitors will see the company’s indoor test track, the component laboratory, crash test dummy calibration, impact testing, and test equipment. There will also be a behind the scenes look at the SRS R&D specialist development such as air-bag compatible bull bars. For more information www.saea.com.au or events@sae-a.com.au

Melbourne EV show with FSAE

The SAE-A has a stand showcasing the Formula SAE-A cars at CarSales Melbourne EV show which is on from 22-24 September at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre.

RMIT and Swinburne are attending with their cars and a Formula simulator. They will also be highlighted on stage to talk about Formula SAE-A.

Hugh H Videion Honorary Life Member SAE-Australasia

Hugh Videion celebrates 90th birthday and 55 years with SAE-A

Hugh Videion joined SAE-A in 1968 and was awarded Honorary Life Membership of the Society in 2001 after a wonderful career in the industry he loved. This is the first part of a two-part story which starts in 1954 at GM-H. Hugh joined GM-H in September 1954 in the Experimental Engineering Department at Fisherman’s Bend as a technical report writer. Prior to that, he had worked at Paton’s Brake Replacements (PBR) from late 1950 to September 1954 in their Experimental Engineering Laboratory located in PBR’s headquarters in Leicester Street, Carlton. At the same time, he was completing his engineering studies at night at the Royal Melbourne Technical College (now RMIT), graduating with a Diploma of Mechanical Engineering in 1960.

Following his promotion in 1961 to Project Engineer- Research and Experimental, Hugh was made responsible for braking systems test and development on all Holden vehicles. The first model Hugh was engaged in was the 1956 FE Holden followed by its successorthe 1958 FC, and later models from the 1962 EJ and 1963 EH through to the 1968 HK.

Hugh’s engineering manager at this time was the Experimental Test Engineer Charles Paterson, a very experienced engineer and

one of the original three Holden engineers who had been assigned to GM Corporation in 1946 in Detroit to participate in the test and development of the prototypes of the first Holden – the iconic 48/215.

The other two GM-H engineers that accompanied Charles Paterson were Jack Rawnsley (Chassis Engineer) and Fred James (Engine Engineer).

In 1963, Jack Rawnsley, a committee member of the Institution of Automotive and Aeronautical Engineers (IAAE), the forerunner of SAE-A, was at that time the engineering manager responsible for the design and development of Holden suspensions, steering, braking systems, wheels and tyres. He encouraged Hugh to author a technical paper on braking systems as one of four papers to be presented by a team of engineers knowledgeable in braking systems, during a Lecture Series sponsored by IAAE in Melbourne.

The lectures were part of an education program offered by IAAE to members and other interested people such as VACC technicians working in the industry. The lectures were highly successful and well attended; they were repeated in 1966 and 1967.

IAAE had been founded in Melbourne in 1927 and later re-named SAE-A when it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with SAE in the USA. This arrangement allowed members of SAE-A to be eligible for joint membership in both SAE-A and SAE-Inc.

Part two will be featured in the December issue of Vehicle Technology Engineer.

Briefs

Parent power by McLaren

Celebrating women in engineering with Romy Mayer

Nulon Racing celebrated International Women in Engineering Day by announcing that respected motorsport engineer, Romy Mayer, is joining the Arundel-based team.

Supercar maker McLaren released a new film to mark International Women in Engineering Day that highlighted the importance of parent power in encouraging young women to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathsbased careers. It featured McLaren automotive materials scientist Ella Podmore MBE and her father Bruce. The film features her chatting with her father while they build a Lego Mclaren F1LM together. You can see the film here: https://www. youtube.com/watch?v=R8kIxwsjvSM

CommBank Manufacturing Insights

The new 2023 CommBank Manufacturing Insights Report revealed that 72 percent of manufacturers in Australia expect to increase production levels in the next 12 months, while the same proportion are planning to increase capital expenditure.

The majority of Australian manufacturers surveyed are confident in the short-term outlook for business conditions, likely buoyed by a stronger than expected financial performance in the past year. Seventy percent of manufacturers reported profit growth in the past 12 months, compared with just 52 percent last year. Manufacturers are optimistic with 74 percent anticipating increased profits in the next 12 months.

Critical mass for critical metals

As more and more electric cars are travelling on the roads of Europe, this is leading to an increase in the use of the critical metals required for components such as electric motors and electronics.

With the current raw material production levels there will not be enough of these metals in future – not even if recycling increases. This was revealed by the findings of a major survey led by Chalmers University of Technology, Sweden, on behalf of the European Commission.

Electrification and digitalisation are leading to a steady increase in the need for critical metals in the EU’s vehicle fleet. Moreover, only a small proportion of the metals are currently recycled from end-of-life vehicles. The metals that are highly sought after, such as dysprosium, neodymium, manganese and niobium, are of great economic importance to the EU, while their supply is limited, and it takes time to scale up raw material production. Our increasing dependence on them is problematic.

Across a 13-year career, Mayer’s list of achievements specifically in Supercars is extensive and includes playing a key role in Jamie Whincup’s seventh career Supercars title and guiding Craig Lowndes and Declan Fraser to the best finish by a wildcard (eighth) in last year’s Repco Bathurst 1000. After working with Triple Eight Engineering in Supercars, Super2 and GT World Challenge Asia for eight years, Mayer says she is looking forward to joining the Nulon Racing team to support Jimmy Golding and Tim Slade. Mayer’s first job was in Germany at Mercedes Motorsport in the German Touring Car Championship (DTM). Working with the car manufacturer for four years, Mayer was heavily involved in the development of a GT3 car, with the project taking a year to complete. After five years at Mercedes, Mayer made the move to Australia to join Triple Eight Race Engineering in September 2015. As data engineer, Mayer worked alongside David Cauchi and Grant McPherson when Jamie Whincup claimed his seventh championship in 2017 before making the move to become a Race Engineer herself on Triple Eight’s Super2 entry for Kurt Kostecki, finishing second in the championship. That same year (2019), Mayer also worked on the GT3 team fielded by Triple Eight in Asia. Following the birth of her first child, Mayer returned to GT3 last year (2022), contesting the full season in Asia, with her entry winning the Pro AM Championship before the eye-

catching result as race engineer of the Lowndes/Fraser result at Mount Panorama.

Mayer is also a FIA Girls on Track Ambassador and Co-Founder of the Future Females program, and often presents to schools and universities to encourage women to pursue a STEM-based career.

“I think it is pretty cool that my joining the team has been announced on International Women in Engineering Day,” Mayer said.

“International Women in Engineering Day is all about raising awareness about the women pursuing engineering and transforming the world with their achievements, so I think the timing is quite fitting.

“Encouraging women and girls to pursue careers in STEM and motorsport is a real passion of mine, and I look forward to continuing my work in this area while being a part of the Nulon Racing team.”

International Women in Engineering Day is celebrated around the world, to honour women in the field of engineering. It focuses on raising the profile of women who are changing the field of engineering and has been recognised by UNESCO.

Plastics no longer fantastic

Most will be aware that the Federal Government is preparing for the next meeting of the UNEP Committee on the preparations for the Plastic Pollution Treaty in 2024.

The Federal Government has joined the High Ambition Coalition to End Plastic Pollution. This Coalition is a group of like-minded countries that will work towards an ambitious new global plastics treaty. This coalition aims

to end plastic pollution by 2040 and is going further than the Treaty envisages.

The Federal Government has also announced its intention to sign the Plastic Pollution Treaty in 2024. It might take one to two years to have this treaty converted into law and regulations in Australia. The Federal Government has also announced it will regulate the use of plastic in packaging most likely through a type of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) scheme or similar.

Although the first actions based on the Treaty will cover polymer materials and plastic products in the packaging industry, most members are affected because you use plastic packaging.

RMIT Online doubles down on upskilling

RMIT Online has extended its partnership with global education provider, Udacity, doubling down on its commitment to make upskilling in critical fields more widely accessible.

The unique collaboration between Udacity and RMIT Online was designed to address skill shortages.

Udacity, which has collaborated with Silicon Valley powerhouses including Google, Facebook and NVIDIA, gives students skills to advance their careers through a series of online courses in hands-on technologies in high-demand subjects.

Following a successful launch of courses in 2018, the newest suite of course offerings include Flying Car and Autonomous Flight Engineer, Deep Learning, Ethical Hacker, and Ethical AI.

Research from RMIT Online and Deloitte Access Economics, titled Ready, Set, Upskil, found the digital skills gap – the gulf between

our current industry skill set and realising the true potential of a resilient, agile, Australian workforce – is costing Australian businesses $3.1 billion annually.

RMIT Online remains the only Australian University to offer internationally backed courses

through Udacity. Courses include Flying Car and Autonomous Flight Engineer, Deep Learning, Ethical Hacker, and Ethical AI, for which students will receive a university-backed credential. All courses are open for enrolment at https://online.rmit.edu.au

CSIRO report shows Australia lags with hydrogen refuelling

A new report released by CSIRO and GHD Advisory calls for Australia to focus on hydrogen-powered transport alongside electric vehicles or risk being left behind our international counterparts.

The ‘Hydrogen vehicle refuelling infrastructure’ report sets out the opportunities and challenges for deploying refuelling stations for hydrogen-powered road vehicles in Australia.

CSIRO’s chief scientist, Prof Bronwyn Fox, said Australia needs to urgently decarbonise its transport sector, which currently accounts for 18.6 percent of our greenhouse gas emissions, if the country is to meet its net zero commitments. Heavy vehicles are a key contributor to these emissions.

“While we know hydrogen will play a critical role, we also know that much of the key infrastructure for storing, moving and distributing hydrogen for use as a transport fuel – including pipelines, storage tanks and refuelling stations is yet to be built,” Prof Fox said.

“That’s why this report is so important. It identifies priorities for action, including areas that would benefit from targeted research and innovation.”

The report compared the different hydrogen storage and dispensing options available and evaluated refuelling infrastructure options based on fuel demand and distance from the hydrogen source.

It found that while all Australian hydrogen refuelling stations currently have onsite hydrogen production, we will need to move to

centralised offsite production and distribution of hydrogen in order to refuel vehicles at scale.

Shawn Wolfe, Executive Advisor at GHD Advisory and lead author of the report, said Australia currently has only five hydrogen refuelling stations in operation, with 20 planned or under construction.

“The pace of the transition to hydrogenpowered transport is moving a lot faster internationally than in Australia,” Mr Wolfe said.

Meanwhile CSIRO, and corporate advisor RFC Ambrian have co-founded Hadean Energy, a new company to commercialise cuttingedge technology that can produce hydrogen with 30 percent less electricity and help to decarbonise heavy industry.

CSIRO will trial the technology at BlueScope’s Port Kembla Steelworks to demonstrate the equipment at pilot scale in an industrial environment.

CSIRO’s tubular solid oxide electrolysis (SOE) technology efficiently produces hydrogen by electrolysing water using a combination of heat and electricity and promises to significantly reduce hydrogen production costs and industry emissions through process efficiencies.

Dr Sarb Giddey, lead scientist on hydrogen research at CSIRO, said the development of tubular SOE technology at CSIRO is a key project aimed at producing more affordable and efficient hydrogen to help industry dramatically reduce emissions.

RMIT Online CEO Nic Cola

Sarb Giddey, Gurpreet Kaur and Raj Ratnaraj with-SOE tubes

Truck & Bus Briefs

Cummins, Daimler and PACCAR battery cell production

Accelera by Cummins, the zero-emissions business unit of Cummins, Daimler Trucks & Buses US and PACCAR are partnering to accelerate and localize battery cell production and the battery supply chain in the United States. The planned joint venture will manufacture battery cells for electric commercial vehicles and industrial applications. The total investment is expected to be in the range of US$2-3 billion for the 21-gigawatt hour (GWh) factory. Accelera by Cummins, Daimler Truck and PACCAR will each own 30% of, and jointly control, the joint venture, which will initially focus on the lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) battery technology family for commercial battery-electric trucks.

Triple tanker

Omni Tanker has launched a world-first composite triple road train, able to move almost 100 tons of payload in a single haulage run, while significantly reducing operational costs. Employing advanced composite materials and engineering practices commonly found in aerospace, Omni Tanker’s new triple tanker features world-first Mould-in-Baffles to better manage the movement of fluid (surge) in the road tankers, enhancing safety, while advanced fabrication techniques also reduce the weight of the trailer units.

Volvo adds to its executive team

Zero emissions bus rollout in Victoria

Victoria is one step closer in its drive towards a more sustainable bus fleet with the launch of a new consultation paper to industry to help support a transition to zero emissions.

All new public transport buses purchased from 2025 onwards will be zero emission as part of the Andrews Labor Government’s target of net zero by 2045.

Minister for Public Transport Ben Carroll launched a consultation paper that lays the groundwork for the transition plan set to be released in 2024.

Victoria is already leading the way through the Labor Government’s $20 million Zero Emission Bus trial delivered hand-in-hand with industry to inform the smooth transition of almost 4,500 diesel buses to zero emissions.

The three-year trial leading up to 2025 involves six operators across Victoria introducing 52 zero emission buses into

their fleets – 50 electric and two hydrogen –across Melbourne, Traralgon and Seymour. The trial has provided evidence about performance, depot charging needs, capacity, infrastructure and energy network requirements, environmental outcomes and customer expectations.

The consultation paper highlights the benefits of the trials with industry and invites their contributions on how a zero emission bus transition can slash emissions, improve passenger experiences and create secure jobs in the bus industry.

More than 100 hybrid and around 45 zero emission buses are already operating on public transport routes across Victoria.

Volvo electric truck to put out fires

Volvo Group has unveiled Australia’s first zero-emissions logistics vehicle, supplied to the ACT Emergency Services Agency (ESA), at the Australasian Fire and Authorities at the (AFAC) conference, the region’s largest emergency management conference and exhibition.

Volvo has added to its executive team with Lauren Pulitano appointed as vice president of public affairs. Ms Pulitano was serving as vice president of governmental sales and UD Trucks Australia and has held roles within the bus and trucks business areas across Australia, Sweden, and Singapore.  Cameron Bettany, an accomplished expert in government projects, emergency services sector, and stakeholder management in the Asia Pacific region, has been promoted to the position of vice president, group governmental sales.

Marco Quaranta joins SEA

SEA Electric has appointed transport industry veteran Marco Quaranta as the company’s Sales Director for the Asia Pacific. Mr Quaranta brings to SEA Electric 35 years of experience from his previous roles at IVECO, with various tenures based in Australia, Korea, Thailand, Hong Kong and his native Italy. Mr Quaranta, held several roles over the last 17 years, including Institutional Relations and Alternative Propulsions Manager, National Product & Marketing Manager, Branch Manager, and National Sales Manager.

The purchase is a significant milestone in the partnership established between Volvo Group Australia and the ESA in July 2022.

The vehicle is a Volvo FL Electric, a solid and nimble truck designed for urban and city environments. With a superstructure designed and made in New Zealand, the FL Electric will be used for important tasks including operational support for Fire & Rescue teams.

“This is a significant milestone for the ACT. Transitioning emergency services operational support vehicles to zero emissions vehicles is a crucial step to achieving our government’s nation-leading

target of net zero emissions by 2045,” ACT Minister for Police and Emergency Services Mick Gentleman said.

Martin Merrick, President of Volvo Group Australia, said that transport accounts for 19 percent of Australia’s carbon emissions, and 38 percent of that is from road vehicles. With this project, government and the emergency services are leading by example in moving to net-zero vehicles. The vehicle has a range of 300 kilometres.

Volvo already has truck orders with the Queensland Fire and Emergency Services for heavy-duty electric FMZ 6x4 prime movers.

SEA trucks with expanded SEA-DAS systems

SEA Electric’s Australian-produced range of light and medium-duty trucks comes as standard with an expanded SEA-DAS (SEA Driver Assistance System) offering.

The array of features includes active systems and passive design features, such as Vehicle Stability Control, Automatic Emergency Braking, Pedestrian Detection, Lane Departure Warning, Traction Control, an Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), dual SRS airbags and dual SRS seatbelt pre-tensioners.

Tested to ADR standards, the SEA Electric compliance plated trucks have an ECE-R29 cab strength certification, a shock-absorbing and collapsible steering column, anti-side intrusion door beams, reversing camera with buzzer, and daytime running lamps.

The SEA 45e, SEA 85e, and SEA 225e cater for 4.5t car licence models through to 22.5t three-axle rigid configurations and a wide array of final applications, with the trucks engineered and assembled in Melbourne.

The SEA-Drive power-system architecture features innovative in-chassis mounted batteries, which improve battery protection and driving dynamics by centralising weight while maintaining front-to-rear weight distribution for optimal braking performance.

One of the key features of the SEA-Drive

Power System is the use of regenerative braking, which not only tops up battery levels while the truck is in motion, but also saves wear on the service brakes, preserving them for any possible emergency situations.

The first stage of the active and passive braking system is engaged by turning the electric motor into a generator when coasting without any pedals depressed, slowing the

Daimler launches new truck brand

Daimler Truck has launched a new brand, Rizon, dedicated to Class 4 and 5 medium-duty battery-electric vehicles for the US market.

Rizon will challenge established truck makers such as Isuzu Motors and Hino Motors as well as several start-ups in the mediumduty commercial-vehicle space. Rizon capitalizes on years of customer feedback and data amassed from Daimler’s existing electric trucks, including the Freightliner eM2 medium-duty truck, which will remain unaffected by the addition of this new brand.

The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) for the eM2 is 26,000 lbs (Class 6) or 33,000 lbs (Class 7).  Rizon initially will offer three cabover model variants, the e18L, e16L and the e16M, with a wheelbase of 175 or 187 inches (4445 or 4750 mm) and various body options such as dry vans, flatbeds, landscape dumps and reefers.

These trucks will target urban retail logistics, last-mile deliveries and municipal work and

feature an “OEM proprietary powertrain with eAxle” and lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries supplied by CATL positioned below the frame.

Expected driving range is 177-257km for 124kWh L models with three battery packs and 75-110 miles (120-177 km) for the 83-kWh M variant with two battery packs.

Rizon trucks are capable of being recharged by Level 2 AC charging (J1772) in 5-6 hours, according to Deuschle, and CCS1compliant DC fast charging in 45-90 minutes. Consulting on AC and DC charging as well as factory-fitted telematics access will be available.

truck and charging the battery, in essence, similar to a diesel engine’s exhaust brake.

The second stage is engaged during the initial depression of the brake pedal, whereby additional negative torque is applied to the motor, with the traditional service brakes then only utilised when the brake pedal is fully depressed as the vehicle stops.

75,000 Volvos built in Australia

Gary Bone, Vice President Volvo Group Australia, handed over the keys to the 75,000th Wacol built truck to be built locally and delivered in Australia.

“This is a landmark for Volvo Group Australia,” said Mr Bone. “It perfectly demonstrates the company’s commitment to the Australian transport industry, and we’re particularly delighted to be able to deliver this truck to Hills Tankers, who are a long-standing Volvo customer.” Andrew Hill of Hill’s Tankers took delivery of the FH16. TrueGreen buys Sydney bus company

Sydney private coach charter company North Sydney Bus Charters has been sold to electric bus company TrueGreen acquiring the charter company for around $100 million. TrueGreen owns zero-emissions bus companies such as Foton Mobility, Gemilang Australia, Nexport and GoZero in Australia and is expecting to make more acquisition this year.

New defence grants for Victoria

The Victorian Labor Government is supporting the state’s defence industry with new grants to help Victorian businesses compete for and win major contracts, growing local defence capabilities and creating jobs.

Minister for Manufacturing Sovereignty

Ben Carroll visited Amiga Engineering and announced round two recipients of the Victorian Land Systems Fund – Supply Chain Uplift Program, which will support Victorian companies to become part of Hanwha Defense Australia’s LAND 8116 supply chain.

A total of more than $275,000 in grants will be awarded to four local companies that specialise in land systems defence to grow their business competitiveness and capabilities, supporting them to become part of Hanwha’s delivery of the Commonwealth Government’s $1 billion LAND 8116 Self-Propelled Howitzer program.

Marand gets $50M extension to include Boxer

Marand Precision Engineering and Rheinmetall have announced a $50M extension to their manufacturing partnership to now include the Boxer Combat Reconnaissance Vehicle (CRV) in use with the Australian Defence Force and for export orders.

Hanwha has also secured the contract for the multi-billion LAND 400 Phase 3 program, the largest land defence contract ever awarded in Victoria.

Around 600 direct jobs will be created from delivering the defence projects and hundreds more indirect jobs across the supply chain.

Broadmeadows-based Integra Systems will receive a grant to purchase and install new equipment into its manufacturing facility. Other companies benefiting from the grants are Total Precision based in Bayswater North and The Smart Think in Geelong. Victoria’s defence sector supports around 24,300 jobs across the sector and contributes $8.4 billion to the Victorian economy each year.

Marand has an existing partnership with Rheinmetall to manufacture LANCE digital turrets, hull components and vehicle attachments in Geelong for export markets utilising Marand’s and Rheinmetall’s established Australian supply chain. The enhanced manufacturing partnership includes Geelong manufacture of Boxer CRV subassemblies including Citadel machining, turret hatches, turret baskets, doors and dismount hatches.

Marand has operations in Melbourne and Geelong and supplies sophisticated

engineering solutions to the defence, aerospace, rail, automotive and mining sectors.

It designs and manufactures complex innovative solutions for its customer base including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE Systems, BHP and Rio Tinto.

The company will undertake design and development with manufacturing at the historic Ford Factory precinct in Geelong. Since opening its Geelong manufacturing division on Ford’s site 10 years ago, Marand has employed more than 80 staff.

CSIRO is Boeing’s Pathfinder

Boeing, the world’s largest aerospace company, has named CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, a Supplier of the Year for the fifth time since 2010.

The ‘Pathfinder Award’ recognises the substantial value CSIRO has created for Boeing through technological breakthroughs across space, advanced materials, data analytics, energy, manufacturing, robotics and autonomy. CSIRO has partnered with Boeing to develop new lightweight and sustainable materials for both aircraft and possible space applications.

The companies have also invested over $200 million across a wide range of projects to advance production systems, improve safety, reduce waste, and increase environmental sustainability in aviation.

Boeing’s Supplier of the Year Award program is an industry-leading recognition program

that highlights the accomplishments of the company’s top-performing suppliers. CSIRO was previously named a Boeing Supplier of the Year in 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2010. Earlier this month, CSIRO and Boeing jointly released the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Roadmap, which charts a path for the decarbonisation of the aviation industry.

Up-lifting Australian small businesses

Australian small businesses participating in Boeing Australia’s first Capability Up-Lift Program have graduated with seven Boeing contracts, including agreements with three new suppliers.

The program participants graduated with tools they need to increase business maturity and improve overall program performance.

The year-long program is designed to support companies who may not have experience working in a defence environment and was delivered with partners, the Office of Defence Industry Support from the Department of Defence, AusIndustry and Defence Jobs Queensland. Together, they shared resources and access to industry experts to provide SMEs with advisory services, mentoring and major event access to enhance business readiness and defence maturity.

At the time of graduating, participants received the following grants and awards:

Two businesses – HINDSITE Industries and Raytracer received AUD $2.8 million in grants and funding to productise their technologies for aerospace, in the areas of virtual reality technology and on-orbit vehicle servicing, assembly and manufacture as part of Australia’s Moon to Mars Initiative. Three businesses – HINDSITE Industries, LOGiT and JRS Group received their first Boeing contracts. Seven SMEs received 10 industry awards at both state and national levels.

Another 200 new jobs in aerospace

Minister for Manufacturing Sovereignty Ben Carroll welcomed Boeing’s growth in Victoria, with the company creating more than 200 new jobs this year alone, an increase of almost 25 percent and bringing its workforce in the state to more than 1000.

These roles are supporting increased production of new commercial planes due to growing demand globally.

Based at Melbourne’s Fisherman’s Bend, the company has been manufacturing aircraft in the state since 1927.

The company is not only growing its workforce in the state but also encouraging more women into aviation trade roles through

Briefs

New Hercules for RAF

The Albanese Government will purchase 20 new C-130J Hercules aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force for $9.8 billion. This will provide the Air Force with state-of-the-art C-130 Hercules to meet the air transport needs of the future. The new acquisitions will replace and expand upon the 12 Hercules aircraft currently operated by Air Force with delivery of the first aircraft expected from late 2027.

Neumann Space to test Australian propulsion system

its Female Apprenticeship Program to increase gender diversity in traditionally male dominated roles.

Boeing’s Victorian presence is one of the company’s largest outside the United States, bringing together a unique combination of research and development, engineering, and advanced manufacturing in the one location.

Thales opens new facility in NSW

Thales Australia officially opened the company’s new advanced manufacturing facility at Lithgow in regional New South Wales.

It’s a key milestone in the first phase of Thales’ ambitious industrial plan to transform its Lithgow Arms site into an advanced manufacturing 4.0 and integration hub for the precision manufacture of next generation Australian designed weapon systems.

The new facility will house a new purpose-built live firing test and evaluation capability to support systems qualification and integration, and the acceleration of research and technology development of digitised smallarms and weapon system platforms.

It will also support collaboration across research institutions, SME partners, and key industrial partners to create the soldier

systems and small arms of the future, as well as train the next generation of skilled advanced manufacturing workers in the central west of New South Wales.

Surrey Satellite Technology of the UK and Neumann Space announced that they have agreed to work together to test an Australian designed and manufactured in-space propulsion system as part of the CarbSAR In Orbit Demonstration Mission.

SSTL and Neumann Space will commence work this year to integrate the next generation Neumann Drive as an IOD payload on board the SSTL CarbSAR satellite scheduled for launch in the second half of 2024.

More Bushmasters

The Australian Government has signed a $160 million contract with Thales Australia to deliver an additional 78 Bushmaster protected mobility vehicles for the Australian Defence Force. Bushmasters will continue to be manufactured in Bendigo, Victoria, with the first delivery expected in 2024.

100 Boxers for Germany

When Prime Minister Anthony Albanese touched down in Berlin ahead of NATO talks, he revealed one of the biggest defence export deals in Australia’s history.

Australia will export more than 100 Brisbanemade Boxer heavy weapon carrier vehicles to Germany starting in 2025 under a $1 billion deal. The military vehicles will be produced in Redbank and will secure around 1,000 jobs and be worth in excess of $1 billion for the Australian economy. “This will be one of our largest-ever exports,” Albanese told reporters on the tarmac.

HDR appoints defence principal Global engineering, architecture and planning company HDR has appointed Tim Napper as its Defence Principal following this year’s Strategic Review. His previous role was in the Department of Defence, as a project director in the Capital Facilities and Infrastructure Branch.

Briefs

Coventry University’s self-driving Nissan

Premcar Bronco on US offroads

Premcar’s latest project was unveiled during this year’s Monterey Car Week in the US.

Coventry University showcased one of its selfdriving the Nissan ENV 200, which is a fully battery and electric operated vehicle. It was seen by the public driving around part of Coventry’s city centre. The vehicle, which is one of two self-driving research vehicles from the University’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Automotive Research, was also demonstrated to the press.

“The vehicle’s purpose is to investigate a range of scenarios around self-driving, connectivity, cyber security and automated testing to create a resilient self-driving solution for our vehicles of the future,” Kevin Vincent, Director of Coventry University’s Centre for Connected and Autonomous Automotive Research, said.

The vehicle is fitted with a 360-degree scanning LiDAR, which shows where the vehicle is and builds a digital picture of the surrounding environment. It also has a series of cameras which help to localise it, a forward-facing radar, ultrasound sensors and a 5G development kit.

Bosch test centre for chips

Global demand for chips for the automotive and consumer goods industries remains high. That is why Bosch is continuing to expand its semiconductor business. The company has now opened a new test centre for chips and sensors in Penang, Malaysia.

The new test centre currently covers more than 18,000 square meters and includes clean rooms, office space, and laboratories for quality assurance and manufacturing. By the middle of the next decade, up to 400 employees will be working there. With the new factory and a total of 4,200 employees, Penang is now Bosch’s biggest location in Southeast Asia.

Nissan Node

Nissan Australia will launch an industry-first Circular Economy project in Victoria, with the Nissan Casting Australia Plant (NCAP) to use recycled Nissan LEAF batteries to power part of its production facility as reported by Manufacturers’ Monthly.

This is an important step towards Nissan Australia’s goal of carbon neutrality — the NCAP battery project, called Nissan Node, will see a new solar array installed at Nissan Casting Australia, as well as new EV chargers.

In its most simplified form, the Nissan Node will include the installation of a new battery energy storage system made of nine repurposed Gen 1 Nissan LEAF batteries at the Nissan Casting Australia Plant, which will be charged via the solar array.

The project is estimated to reduce Nissan Casting Australia’s annual C02 emissions by 259 tonnes, while saving 128 megawatts of energy every year.

Illinois-based Gateway Bronco teamed with the Australian new-vehicle engineering and manufacturing firm to develop the chassis, suspension and steering for its newest 1960s-inspired LUXE-GT model. Known internally by its project codename Pegasus, the Melbourne-based OEM automaker developed the ladder-frame structure with a 2350 mm wheelbase and 1623 mm (front)/1630 mm (rear) track width reminiscent of the classic Bronco. It has also been designed and developed to accept Ford’s latest 343 kW 5.0-litre ‘Coyote’ V8 engine, 10R80 10-speed automatic transmission, and two-stage shift-on-the-fly all-wheel drive system.

Gateway Bronco’s new Premcar-developed platform is also equipped with a suite of active safety systems, including Electronic Stability Control (ESC), Traction Control (TC) and Anti-lock braking (ABS), providing drivers with modern safety support as well as impressive current-day ride, handling and steering performance.

The chassis has been developed exclusively

for Gateway Bronco with US Patent(s) pending.

Beginning with specific attribute and performance targets, the two-year platformdevelopment program progressed through extensive CAD and FEA phases before prototype construction and testing. Specific suspension components were also newly developed for the program.

All engineering and development work was conducted at Premcar’s Engineering and Production Centre in Melbourne and included heavy-duty testing in remote regions of Australia.

AIC offers test facility for ADR98/00 braking

The Auto Innovation Centre (AIC) is now an approved ROVER Test Facility for the newly released ADR98/00 – Advanced Emergency Braking (AEB).

This new ADR98 service offering by the AIC will be an important test for vehicle modifiers developing frontal protection systems or producing GVM upgrade packages to ensure vehicle safety and compliance and is applicable to new model vehicles from 1 March 2023.

The AIC’s state-of-the-art testing capability features an ISO compliant foam vehicle target, custom tow fixture, plus specialised test equipment, forming an integral component of the AIC’s suite of vehicle testing services.

In addition to ADR98 testing, the AIC is a ROVER recognised testing facility for: ADR31 (Passenger Vehicle Brake), ADR35 (Commercial Vehicle Brake), ADR62 (Mechanical Connections – Tow Bars), ADR88 (Electronic Stability Control), ADR89 (Brake Assist Systems).

Product level testing is also a speciality of the Auto Innovation Centre with hydraulic durability, vibration, tensile testing and shock absorber testing available at the AIC’s Melbourne facility

Directed Technologies mobility innovation centre

Directed Technologies has a new $15m Connected Mobility Innovation Centre to fuel the rapid growth of connected vehicle technology and IoT solutions.

Briefs

Helixx new manufacturing system to deliver mini electric vehicles

The Centre will advance Australia’s capabilities in next-generation fleet vehicle digitisation and electrification while providing a foundation for Directed Technologies to scale its APAC solutions to global markets.

A Victorian-owned and operated company, Directed Technologies offers solutions for a variety of fleet and passenger vehicles including trucks, trailers, cars, motorbikes, and electric delivery vehicles.

The Connected Mobility Innovation Centre currently manages 200 terabytes of data, processing 20 billion probe data points a day, including live video feeds, vehicle and driver behaviour alerts and efficiency measures and vehicle fault codes. It provides customers with a live view and advanced analytical

insights of their people, vehicles, and assets across the global road network.

The new Connected Mobility Innovation Centre will double Directed Technologies’ local manufacturing capabilities in both telematics and IoT.

The company’s telematics devices, manufactured locally, are used in more than 2,500 vehicle fleets globally including truck brands like HINO, Mercedes-Benz, Kenworth, DAF and IVECO.

The company has seen rapid growth in Australia and New Zealand, with the homegrown technology now exported throughout 15 APAC countries including Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Guam, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

Savvy research into the state of Australia’s view on EVs

As part of Savvy’s research into Australian consumer sentiment and economics, the company followed up its Electric Vehicle 2021 survey with a new poll seeing where sentiments are at present.

A new representative national survey commissioned has shown that over half of Australians intend to buy an electric vehicle (EV) in the future.

With 41 percent who said they intended to buy at some point and 10 percent primed to purchase within the next 12 months.

The 45–54-year-old cohort are the most likely to buy at some point with the 18-24s and 35-44s indicating they’re the most likely to buy within the next 12 months. The older demographics (55-64 and 65+) were most likely to prefer a internal combustion engine car.

Twelve percent said they would rather purchase a Petrol-Electric Hybrid vehicle instead and three percent of Australians already own an EV.

This is a slight increase over Savvy’s 2021 survey.

Prices seemed to have eased despite inflation and rate hikes, as only 17 percent said they couldn’t afford to buy an EV this year compared with 30 percent 2021. This may be influenced by greater choice and cheaper alternatives coming to market. Curiously, 23 percent of men say they cannot afford to buy an EV compared with 37 percent of women. When Australians were asked about their top three changes needed make EV ownership more enticing, men were more concerned about improved driving range compared with women being more concerned about electricity prices. Men also registered more concern about improved infrastructure.

Helixx, a new UK-based global technology company, has announced an innovative manufacturing system to deliver a range of affordable mini commercial electric vehicles. Engineered in the UK and designed to support sustainable economic development, the range of four advanced vehicles will be rapidly deployable virtually anywhere in the world through local manufacture.

The Helixx CARGO commercial delivery van will offer optimised cargo space, while the TRUCK pick-up is designed to meet the needs of construction businesses. The open-body TUK and the closed-body RIDE are designed as modern replacements for ride-hailing and taxi fleets. Through Helixx, regional businesses will be able to create and operate mobility hubs that within as little as 180 days can produce zero-emission commercial vehicles suitable for the megacities of today and tomorrow.

Tesla’s Model 3 just got better

The Tesla Model 3 will now travel up to 629 km (WLTP) on a single charge with updated exterior styling optimised for maximum aerodynamics. The vehicle also has a new interior design with wraparound styling, premium materials and customisable ambient lighting. For the first time in Model 3, backseat passengers can adjust the climate or watch movies on an 8” rear touchscreen.

Society of Automotive Engineers

Australasia’s 2023 Annual General Meeting

On 27 June the SAE-A held its Annual General Meeting for 2023 at the Richmond Social in a private function room. SAE-A members started to arrive just before 6.30pm after which SAE-A Chairman and CEO Adrian Feeney officially opened the meeting.

At the start of his presentation, Mr Feeney concentrated on the reasons the SAE-A conducts reviews of its financial situation rather than audits explaining that ASIC does not require audits until a company reaches a threshold of about $500,000 and while the SAE-A is currently very financially stable and buoyant it has not reached that threshold. A review is substantially more cost effective than a full audit hence the SAE-A will continue with reviews.

Mr Feeney then reminded the audience of the SAE-A’s mission and vision statements which are:

1. Our mission is to advocate for, develop and connect Australasian mobility engineers for the future of global mobility

2. Our vision is to foster a thriving mobility engineering industry within the Australasian region. These are central to the operation of the SAE-A, as is the board which welcomed James Soo and Bernard Rolfe who were appointed during the year as replacements for two resignations.

After a snapshot of how the SAE-A had worked through the difficult COVID years Mr Feeney remarked on the welcome change to face-to-face meetings and the extremely successful APAC21 conference.

“We had an absolutely brilliant APAC21 conference last year attended by nearly 190 delegates over three days and it really made people realize just the capability we have,” he said.

Mr Feeney commented that due to COVID it went a little bit quiet last year saying there was not much choice, but now the events calendar is very strong,

thanks to Suzanne Nicol the society’s new full-time events manager, and to spice things up there are a lot of new events planned for this year.

Three board member positions were decided at the AGM and another big announcement was made.

“The big announcement, it’s a very sad moment for everyone I know, but I’m stepping down as chairman this year,” Mr Feeney said. “So, I’m stepping down, I will continue to help out, but we are looking for a new chairman and I think now is the right time to do so and to bring some fresh ideas in. Not that my ideas were all that bad, but I think we just need different ones. So, the SAE team for 2023 will have a new chairman.”

Mr Feeney will continue as CEO.

The SAE-A Board for 2022 was highlighted on the powerpoint presentation with Adrian Feeney as chairman, Michael Waghorne Finances, Greg Shoemark as Snr Vice President Government & Industry Liaison, Bernard Rolfe FISITA & SAEI Liaison – Director, Mohammad Fard Major Conference Technical – Director, James Soo Autonomous/EV Vehicles–Director, and Richard Taube and Gary White who is now President. It was time then to turn to the election of three vacancies on the board with nominations received from Lt Col Paul Nation, Noi Vera (Kotev) and Martha Oplopiadis, the three nominees were duly elected.

“I think it’s a great board. I mean the ones who are staying on have done very, very well and the new ones are going to bring some fresh ideas. So that’s all looking very bright,” Mr Feeney remarked. “Things

are changing in our world, in the automotive world so we’re looking for enthusiastic people to be part of that journey.

“We can’t look at just automotive in the old terms. The world is changing around us and so transport technology, off-site construction, defence and aerospace and autonomous and automated vehicle technology, they’re all areas which we need to move more and more into.

“We have started that process and we have assigned responsibilities within the board to look at that and to become experts in that field and that will continue to grow. So, we need to diversify as a bottom line.”

Finally, Mr Feeney touched on the Professional Engineers Association registration scheme saying that the focus was firmly on making that a reality for the SAE-A. Three years ago, the society approached the Victorian Government for a seat at the discussion table as the law was being developed. The SAE-A got that seat and had input and continues to do so. With that in mind there will be a need in the near future to employ a Professional Engineers Association assessor, which will be done once the new board settles in.

Three guest speakers were then introduced: Khesh Selvaganapathi – LEAP Australia, Prakash Shrestha – Ford Australia and Kevin Yardley, formerly VinFast Australia.

Mr Selvaganapathi graduated as a mechanical engineer from Monash University and with his passion for simulation is now Engineering Solutions Manager at LEAP AUSTRALIA, specialising in Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and FEA. As an engineering solutions manager, he dedicates himself to assisting local companies in harnessing the power of simulation for product development processes.

Mr Shrestha has a Masters Degree in Structural Engineering and more than 10 years’ experience in product development, design, manufacturing and CAE, with nine world patents and a passion for advanced finite element analysis, structural dynamics, vibration analysis, data acquisition/analysis and CAD.

Mr Yardley was formerly Head of VinFast Engineering Australia. He graduated from Swinburne in 1993 and in 1995 he started with Holden. Mr Yardley progressed quickly up the management hierarchy until he left in 2019. His journey at VinFast started in 2019 and ended in 2021, but in that short space of time he experienced a great deal.

Noi Vera

Paul Nation

Prakash Shrestha Interior CAE –

Ford Australia

Eight years ago Mr Shrestha started with Ford and has been working with the company in interior CAE – IP and console, soft and hard trim, door trims, air registers and air bags. Two years into his job at Ford the company closed down manufacturing in Australia, but they maintained the development of the Everest model here as well as the Ranger. These products are developed in Australia for the whole world so it’s a complex program. “At the moment about a hundred engineers are doing computer-aided engineering. That includes safety, NVH, durability, all kind of things,” Mr Shrestha explained.

“I work in the interior, so basically interior means the IP and console, the soft trim, hard trim, registers and airbags and you know the safety things.”

One of the important parts of the job is the NVH analysis – Noise, Vibration, Harshness which is done using Nastran software, which is a finite element analysis (FEA) program that was originally developed for NASA. The other part is the kinematics which is analysed using MSC Adams which is a multibody dynamics simulation software system. The simulation software solver runs mainly on Fortran and more recently C++ as well. According to MSC Adams it is the most widely used multibody dynamics simulation software.

The IP/Console – knee/head impact airbags, CFD, illumination and other structural elements are analysed using Ansys.

“It is quite complex, you know, because what has happened is you are driving on a road. The wheels are vibrating, and the body is vibrating, and you know, then the steering is vibrating and all the parts are vibrating. So, what we have to do is we have to make sure that there is no resonance between each of them,” Mr Shrestha said.

“You have to take into account everything. Although you are working in the interior, you still need to make sure it is not resonating with any other parts in the vehicle. If it resonates, then you know that part is going to fail. So, basically, the thing is in a car you might have thousands of parts, and you don’t want any of them to be resonating and failing within the life cycle.”

Mr Shrestha went on to explain the challenges facing his area which includes meeting criteria from different countries, different laws and regulations. In some countries you may have to put in single stage airbags, others dual stage or maybe low power or high power. He cited the example of North America where they need larger airbags because they don’t have to have seat belts in every state.

Regardless of the air bag type or deployment the systems all must work as intended.

“We have to make sure that it cracks properly,

Khesh Selvaganapathi Engineering Solutions Manager Leap Australia

Mr Selvaganapathi has been part of LEAP’s finite element team for the past four years and he was concentrating his talk on CAE.

LEAP assists local companies to reduce costs, improve product quality and increase productivity using engineering software from industry leaders such as ANSYS, PTC, nCode, Rocky & LSTC.

“Ansys has been around from 1970s. Initially the start was with the nuclear industry in a structural and a finite element sense. But ever since Ansys has grown into a huge multinational simulation company focusing on different physics,” he explained.

“We’ve been supporting a number of clients in Australia, and we’ve got a local team in all the major cities. We train, and we do consultancy as well.

“Apart from Ansys, the other things we offer, but I’m primarily from the Ansys team, includes CAD, as well as product of lifecycle management assistance.”

it opens up, it hits the windshield, and then by the time it’s fully open, the person hits. It looks very, very simple, but the simulation is fairly complex,” he explains.

“The last part is the CFD, that is the occupant, like how the person feels inside – you have to have an air conditioning system. We want to make sure that there’s enough air coming out. And then the demisters are working properly and it’s good enough to demist. For for that, we do the CFD.”

Mr Selvaganapathi went on to explain that nowadays the goal is to get products out faster and cheaper and so the solution is to use simulation in order to lower costs as well as to get testing done.

He also touched on how his company is working with phototonic simulation where with a computer you can render simulations of a foggy, or rainy or very sunny day, to see how a system performs within those parameters.

As Mr Selvaganapathi said in closing what he was able to talk about was just 10 percent of what Ansys has to offer.

Here and gone, VinFast

It’s tempting to call this VinFast, bin’ fast but we won’t however, the Vietnamese company did come and go in Australia at a very fast rate, quicker in and out than Alfa Romeo of times gone by.

VinFast set up shop in Melbourne in December 2019, officially opened its R&D centre in June 2020, purchased the Lang Lang proving ground from Holden in September 2020, in May 2021 it ‘temporarily’ closed its engineering centre in Port Melbourne and then pulled the pin completely in Australia in August 2021. The company blamed COVID.

Kevin Yardley ex-Holden and GM engineer had set up the local office and headed the company in Australia.

He had been with GM for 25 years and was an experienced engineer but also an experienced automotive executive. He resigned from VinFast after 18 months.

VinFast LLC is the brainchild of Vietnam’s richest man, Pham Nhat Vuong, who invested billions in his dream of developing a global car company based in Vietnam, for a while it did include Australia and while the company has said recently that it hasn’t put that dream aside it is unlikely in the near future.

“I went to VinFast in 2019, and I was there as head of product development for about 18 months. But what I’d like to talk about in all of that diversity is my learnings and experiences on how culture plays a really vital role in the auto industry. I mean, most people think it’s just technical,” Mr Yardley said at the SAE-A AGM where he spoke at length on his time with the company.

Australia, our culture and outlook is individual as is every country’s but what Mr Yardley reiterated was the need, the absolute need to understand the culture of the market you want to tap into.

An easy example is Great Wall Motors, any Australian could have told you the name would not work no-one in their right Aussie mind would want to say I drive a Great Wall. Hence, GWM was born.

Mr Yardley referred to what he termed the GM ‘cookbook’ which was essentially a recipe for building a car for a specific country that would fit the culture.

“In my opinion you have to have a company culture of trust and delegation of real

Kevin Yardley

authority, okay? You have to let the people that are doing their job be responsible and in charge of their job,” he stressed. “And you’ve got to trust them. That’s one of the key things. And then personal ownership follows because those engineers, they own it. And they feel that they own it. Then as a result of that, you get passion, and you get people striving for excellence. I mean, a process can’t dictate passion or striving for excellence.

“If an engineer just does his job and he meets his metric, the end product will work. But that’s not excellence.

“So, you get in a car, it’s freezing cold, you’re at altitude. These are all calibration issues and you put your foot on the throttle and the drivability is terrible. It jerks. It leaps around. It’s no good. The quality’s poor, but it works – okay. It doesn’t stall. So, the engineer can say, well, job’s done it works now.”

But that’s not excellence. “Passionate engineers that feel ownership will work together and optimize these sorts of systems, and that is what’s missing. Very much missing in newly emerging auto companies, particularly in Asia and companies like VinFast,” Mr Yardley pointed out.

“That element of passion, they think you can tick a box, job done and walk away and, and that’s not developing a car. That’s developing a product that to some extent works, but it’s not optimized.”

Korea was cited as an example of the loss of what it meant to drive a car.

“I went to Korea, and they had about four or five car models that they were going to launch. And they wanted me to drive them and see what the throttle progression and other things were like. It was terrible, I was just shocked. I thought, how can you sign that off?

“You touched the throttle, off you went. Um, and then when you were going to overtake another car, there was nothing left because all the torque had been used right back at the beginning of the throttle travel. And they said no look, we meet the GM metric and they put up a chart and said, well, here’s the GM metrics. Our vehicle responds within the two lines that it supposed to, so we comply. And that’s what they would sell to their management.

“They’d lost touch with what it is to drive a car. Your job is not done. That’s only a guideline. But in their culture, that’s how they make cars. That’s how they were making cars, I should say, in Korea.”

In China he found that engineers had little authority or direct responsibility and that was a reflection of their culture.

There are no names associated with the engineering of any part of a car it’s just the

department name, so you don’t know who to talk to. Nobody stands out in China, so how can you fix an issue.

That was just one of the problems, another was that engineers changed jobs frequently so there was a lack of continuity, lessons learned were lost and had to be relearned and programs were delayed.

“Another thing I found in China was that one of my engineers that I’d employed, he didn’t know a simple physics formula that any, every engineer would know. Even a physics student in year 12 in Australia would know this.

“So, I went to HR, and I got them to pull out his degree to see, because he had to have a degree to be an engineer and his degree was real. He actually did have a degree. And that then led me to question the ability of all the engineers.

“Now in Australia, there’s no doubt, right. We

don’t need to question the qualification of somebody. You don’t even think about it. But it’s very different in China. “One of the times we were developing chassis dynamics and we assumed that the development team was driving the cars and developing the dynamics like you would here. But on one of the sign-off rides, I found that even though they had licenses, they would sit in the back seat of the car to evaluate the chassis.”

The culture in China meant that driving was not a common thing, not even for car engineers their standard of living didn’t allow for it, and cars were not part of the culture; they had only been common for around 20 years. Therefore, you had people developing cars and chassis that haven’t had much exposure to them. Company cars were only for senior management not engineers, they were the domain of the wealthy.

So, the cars that were being sold in China were in Mr Yardley’s own words terrible, the NVH was terrible, as was the performance, the handling – the whole car, but they were selling like hotcakes.

“And the reason for that is they don’t care about the driving experience. They don’t care about the handling. They want to get out of the cold, get out of the rain. And they want to put six or seven people in the car and go somewhere. They don’t care about a bit of noise. Whereas for us, that’s really foreign,” he said.

“Engineering a car for performance and handling was a waste of money and a waste of time in that market. But you’ve got to understand your market, otherwise you put all that money and effort into that and it’s just not something that they’re interested in.”

It was the same for Mr Yardley when he went to work in India for GM, the company pulled out eventually, the problem was that the culture in India wasn’t understood. GM was trying to sell global quality cars in an environment where those standards were not important.

Now onto VinFast, recent reports from overseas car magazines were extremely damning Mr Yardley said but he still believes the company has a lot going for it such as good financial backing and rapid decision making, it has state-of-the-art manufacturing, the best European equipment, best suppliers but it’s still not winning.

“The problem with VinFast is they’re just trying to do too much too quickly without the experience. I mean, in a normal OEM, experienced OEM, you do little changes at a time. You don’t change the body of a car and the engine and the transmission all in the same model year.

“You just don’t do that. Well, VinFast are trying to do even more than that. They’re trying to create a car from scratch, a battery system from scratch, a manufacturing facility for a battery system.”

But there are some things missing in the culture of the company, trust and delegation and they haven’t come to terms with that yet according to Mr Yardley. It’s speed of execution above all else especially over their competitors who they believe to be too slow to react.

They believe they’ve got to be fast, faster than anybody else and they believe this is their advantage it’s worked well for them in

the other industries in which they operate but automotive is highly complex.

“We would do millions of kilometres of testing, validation testing in Australia, and we would find hundreds and hundreds of issues that would have to be fixed,” Mr Yardley said.

“Well, when speed’s your priority, that’s the first thing that you cut back on. And on top of that, you don’t get exposure to the environmental variabilities and uses that customers will expose the vehicle to. You think driving around this road here is going to give you a good feel for the car, but have you driven on sand and rock.”

These are the growing pains for VinFast. “They think you can make a car easily; you can outsource engineering like your ADAS features, you can just outsource to someone else and they’ll do it, plug it in and it all works. And of course, that’s not, that doesn’t happen. That’s not the way it works,” he said. “And within the company, you don’t have the trust of delegation, you don’t have the employee ownership of the car, and the parts and people are just there to do a job and tick a box, and that’s all they’re interested in doing. And employees are pushed to work long hours.

“I was personally working seven days a week for almost eight months in Vietnam during Covid, and my family was back in Australia. We couldn’t visit each other and there was absolutely no joy in life. And so, I was completely dissatisfied, and I decided to resign because of that.

“I just want to make the comment that, you know, until you go to other companies and other cultures around the world, you just don’t realize how important it is to understand the culture of your market that you’re going to and how critical it is for the culture in your organization to be the right one so that you have trust and ownership in your organization.

“And that’s hard to find in China. That’s hard to find in a lot of these companies, particularly in VinFast but that’s how you motivate employees. You know, people have got to feel they’re part of the decision making – contributing. So, that’s basically my message in order to get the best product possible, you need to have the right culture.”

Thomas Bräunl1,*, Kai Li Lim2, 1, Thomas Drage1, Kieran Quirke-Brown1, Zhihui Lai1, Yuchen Du1, Kyle Carvalho1

1 School of Engineering, The University of Western Australia, 35 Stirling Hwy., Perth Australia

2 Dow Centre for Sustainable Engineering Innovation, The University of Queensland, Brisbane

* Corresponding author: tb@ee.uwa.edu.au

Australia

Building an Autonomous Drive System for an Electric Shuttle Bus

1. Introduction

The Renewable Energy Vehicle Project (REV) at UWA has worked on electric vehicle conversions as well as on autonomous driving systems since its foundation in 2008. The group has converted a BMW X5 to drive-bywire and built one of the world’s first fully autonomous Formula-SAE cars [1-3]. In early 2020, REV purchased a second-hand EasyMile EZ10 autonomous electric shuttle bus, which we branded nUWAy, with the intent to utilize this platform to design and implement our own software for an advanced autonomous driving system. The vehicle was delivered without any software; the onboard computer had a blank disk drive. The shuttle bus has an electric drive system and drive-by-wire hardware with an encrypted CAN bus interface, which we are unable to access – so our vehicle can only be moved through its joystick console. It was therefore necessary to develop our own interfaces to activate the steering and driving functions as well as interact with the low-level automation systems of the vehicle, which control functions such as passenger doors, lighting, and battery management.

Our autonomous driving system is based on the Robot Operating System’s (ROS) opensource modules, which we integrated with our own navigation control system. While the primary goal of this project is to develop an ondemand campus-shuttle service with intelligent (i.e. not pre-defined) navigation based upon environ-mental sensors, the development of such a vehicle as a research system provides the opportunity to implement and test a variety of concepts and techniques in an operational environment. This paper describes in detail the hardware components and software packages built in order to implement a fully functional autonomous drive system.

Autonomous shuttle buses remain a popular choice for driverless platforms, given their ease of operation in closed private environments, without requiring regulatory clearance for autonomous vehicles. Doing so also introduces a research platform to expose the public to autonomous driving and to measure their perception towards this technology [4, 5]. This project is hence performed in cooperation with the UWA Transport Science Group and the UWA Planning and Transport Research Centre (PATREC) to study user acceptance of automated public transport.

Students and researchers at the Tallinn University of Technology have developed a similar product called ISEAUTO for this

ABSTRACT

purpose, which was eventually commercialized [6]. ISEAUTO was fabricated from a Mitsubishi i-MiEV chassis base that was enhanced with Ackermann steering, while the rest of the body was custom designed. Like our product, software on the ISEAUTO is ROS-based, with sensor and controller interfacing performed over Ethernet. Low-level controls communicate over CAN. Systems like these can serve as a flexible testbed for autonomous driving, which can expand to Autonomous Shuttleas-a-Service (ASaaS) [7] intelligent mobility solutions, which are ideal for private areas such as campus grounds.

2. Shuttle Bus Modifications

The shuttle bus used in this project (Figure 1) features a 48 V, 4 kW, reversible drive system with four-wheel steering and a redundant braking system. It is managed by a proprietary electronic control unit (ECU). This system provides a drive-by-wire interface that handles low-level control of motors, steering and brakes through a PLC. The vehicle is capable of travelling at 40 km/h while its turning circle is less than 4m, making it extremely useful for autonomous driving in tight areas. In order to operate the shuttle bus from our own compute hardware and software, we needed to perform a number of modifications, which are outlined below.

2.1 Batteries and Charging System

With 8 kWh of Lithium-Iron-Phosphate (LFP) cells, the range of about 40 km is sufficient for our campus shuttle application. Battery cells are connected in series, as shown in Figure 2, left. We changed the charging system from a French proprietary system to an IEC-compliant Type-2 socket (see Figure 2, right top/bottom). With this, we can charge the shuttle at any of our project’s AC charging stations on campus or in the Perth metro area. We also added an energy monitoring system (TBS Pro) that

Autonomous shuttle buses have been available for some years from manufacturers Navya, EasyMile and Local Motors. Despite their limited usability with only six to eight seats and driving at low speeds, these vehicles have been very popular with the general public. Their standard method of navigation relies on a fixed set of waypoints using RTKGPS for point-to-point movement along a fixed route. Vehicles cannot deviate from their pre-programmed route, so the onboard safety officer has to manually drive the shuttle around any minor obstacle in its way. In this paper, we present an alternative navigation system for autonomous shuttle buses which combines lidar, IMU and GNSS navigation. Our ROS-based system is able to drive to any point on a university campus and will actively generate all drivable routes whenever it encounters stationary or movable obstacles that are not listed in its map. To aid software development, a simulation model of the shuttle bus with all of its sensors and a digital model of the university campus have been implemented in Carla.

KEYWORDS: autonomous vehicles; lidar; navigation algorithm; obstacle avoidance; ROS

provides charging level and usage monitoring independent of the vehicle’s integrated battery management system (BMS).

2.2 Vehicle Control Interface

As we were not able to obtain the vehicle’s CAN bus codes for driving and steering, we had to develop our own interface system, which mimics the operator’s manual joystick panel. Referring to Figure 3, the additional interface has been designed around a TI Hercules automotive ARM microcontroller, which is certified for ASIL applications. This allows us to implement additional drive-control and safety features as part of our automation system outside of the shuttle bus ECU. Additionally, it provides means for using a wireless Bluetooth hand-controller for manual maneuvering of the vehicle and adds a hardwired interface

Figure 1. Autonomous shuttle bus nUWAy on campus

Figure 2. Battery module (left), original charging socket (top), IEC-compliant modification with energy monitoring (bottom).

APAC-21-197

to the safety systems as an additional layer of redundancy in fault detection. Critical interfaces are implemented using isolated buses with loopback circuits for constant error checking, ensuring that any abnormal condition will stop the vehicle.

us the geographic position along with velocity, acceleration, and orientation data. The device provides internal data filtering and data fusion before it is transmitted to a ROS node.

2.4 Onboard Computer Systems

In addition to the ECUs for the low-level drive control system, the shuttle uses an industrial safety PLC and an industrial PC for its highlevel navigation system, connected to a CAN network. The safety PLC handles basic sequence-control of the vehicle (e.g., doors and brakes) and provides action for fault conditions and collision avoidance from the perimeter lidars, which implement a simple distancebased safety curtain.

and point cloud processing. Figure 4, left, shows the combined point cloud from all eight lidars mounted on the nUWAy shuttle. The scans from the four low 2D SICK lidars are complemented by the scans from the Velodyne’s and 3D SICK/ibeo lidars in middle and high mounting positions.

2.5.4. rf2o_laser_odometry

2.3 Sensors

nUWAy is equipped with three types of lidar sensors that are used for object detection and mapping, resulting in the lidar map as shown in Figure 4.

1. Four Sick 2D LMS safety lidars are mounted at the bottom of the nUWAy on all four corners. These are single-layer lidar sensors with coverage of 270˚ and a maximum range of 20 m. These sensors are available to both the high-level systems and the low-level PLC. The low-level safety PLC triggers a hardware emergency stop in case of a close obstruction in the path of the shuttle. So the vehicle performs collision avoidance completely independent of its high-level software. These sensors are most critical for the vehicle’s safety, but they can only provide 2D environment information and may miss any obstacles lower than 25cm.

2. Two Sick 3D LD-MRS (equivalent to ibeo Lux) localization lidars are mounted on the top of the shuttle, one facing forward, one backward. The sensors provide a 4-layer, 3.2˚ vertical and 85˚ horizontal field of view and have a maximum range of 300m. Due to the long-range and height of mounting, these lidars are suited for localization.

3. Two Velodyne VLP-16 lidars provide 16 layers for a 30˚ vertical and 140˚ horizontal field of view. Apart from gene-rating a point cloud, these sensors are also capable of indi-cating the intensity of the reflection and can detect road markings and signs. The range of these sensors is up to 100m. The two Velodyne lidars were not used and not even connected in the shuttle setup we received—neither were the forward and backward-facing cameras. All this hardware was probably meant to be used for future hardware/software upgrades.

The shuttle used a NovAtel’s PwrPak6 series GNSS receiver which is coupled with a highperformance antenna mounted on top of the shuttle. This receiver is configured to receive Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) positioning data to enhance the precision of the GPS. We replaced this system with the Eclipse-D from SBG Systems, which combines a dual-antenna RTKGNSS with a built-in IMU. This system gives

We extended the high-level compute system with an Nvidia Jetson AGX Xavier (soon to be upgraded to Nvidia Jetson AGX Orin), which provides accelerated execution for our Deep Learning based algorithms for interpreting sensor data. The Xavier has 6 ARM central cores plus a 512 core Volta GPU with 32 GB LPDDR4x RAM; it is specifically designed for use in autonomous machines and has a form factor and power consumption far closer to an embedded system than an industrial PC. A 10-Gbit Ethernet network links computers and sensors.

2.5

Software

We originally installed Linux version 18.02 with the Robot Opera-ting System (ROS) for communication between Ethernet-based devices on both onboard computers (Intel PC and Nvidia Xavier) and are currently in the process of migrating to Linux 20.02 with ROS

2. Every sensor output (lidar, GNSS, camera and IMU) can then be accessed by either computer to run ROS base packages. We use packages ranging from device drivers to prebuilt navigation programs to accomplish a range of different tasks.

2.5.1.

move_base

Move-base is part of the navigation stack set up by the ROS environment. The base layout requires sensory inputs, a map, and the transfer function of the vehicle. It can be used to plan a path and generate velocity commands. We will further detail the selection and alteration of the global planner and local planner in the following sections.

2.5.2. Cartographer

Google developed this real-time positioning and map building library, which developers include positioning and mapping func-tions in 2D or 3D environments[8]. The Cartographer package is designed to obtain relatively high precision 2D maps in real-time, even with limited computing resources. Cartographer builds a global map based on submaps, which can effectively avoid the interference of moving objects in the environment during the mapping process. Cartographer currently supports multisensor data mapping (odometry, IMU and laser scanner).

2.5.3. Point Cloud Library

The Point Cloud Library (PCL) is an extensive open-source C++ library for depth image

This package provides an implementation of planar odometry, transforming lidar data into a range-flow approach [9][9]. This method can estimate the position and orientation of the mobile platform based on the change of geometric features from consecutive lidar scans. For nUWAy, the central move_base package requires odometry information to perform its function as expected, so this package is used to extract this information from lidar data.

However, lidar data reflected from the ground can display similar geometric features for consecutive laser scans. Therefore, in order to eliminate such false readings, a PCL filter is used. An example of the nUWAy PCL filter is shown in Figure 4.

2.5.5. Search-Based Planning Library (SBPL)

This global planner works by calculating the best route from map information alone. There are multiple methods for achieving this, with their major difference being computational speed. The majority of the considered global planners work along the same overall process [10, 11]:

1. Split the map into multiple different cells.

2. Generate trees which are paths that will explore the available area either randomly or using a search algorithm (A*, Dijkstra, or Weighted A*), and create nodes that will have the corresponding navigation cost.

3. Each node’s cost on a successful goal path is totalled to obtain a complete path cost.

4. Finally, the path with the lowest cost will be selected either after a timeout or when the first viable path is found.

Sampling-based planners work by randomly exploring the space available to try and find the best path. They will generate a random tree that explores the space and produces a varied but still low-quality path since the primary metric to measure is collision avoidance. When run for shorter intervals, the problem gets worse since it cannot fully explore the free space area; thus, it cannot be the planner of choice for a vehicle that knows where it wants to go [11].

Variation planners work by attaching a cost to a path and velocity function and functions successfully only when there is a finite small amount of possible outcomes; otherwise, the computational load becomes too high. The path created is judged according to multiple different variables, including the vehicle’s

Figure 3. Interface board between PC and joystick control

Figure 4. PCL filter applied to lidar data

kinematics restrictions, its closeness to a collision, etc. This type of planner is used to decide which immediate motions are needed, either when turning or when avoiding a small obstacle [8, 12].

Search-based lattice planners start by discretizing the total free space area and create a list of possible moves that are feasible (motion primitives). From this, paths created consist of multiple connected motion primitives. By simplifying the system to a set of possible moves, the searching algorithm can work much faster than the sampling method. A search method is needed to speed up the time for the planning and each path will still be costed to find the most cost-effective path [11].

3. Localization and Navigation

The mapping and localization system for nUWAy mainly consists of the input, data pre-processing, and SLAM modules. The input module includes four single-layer lidars, four multi-layer lidars and one Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). Eight lidars perceive different areas of the environment and provide corresponding point cloud data. The SGB IMU can provide angular velocities and accelerations in three dimensions, as well as a filtered GNSS signal.

The data pre-processing module is mainly composed of a PCL merger and a PCL filter. The function of this PCL merger is to transform the coordinates of the point sets to a common base frame, combining then all point clouds within them. This method makes it easier for the obstacle avoidance module and the SLAM module to process the point cloud.

The PCL merger is followed by a PCL filter which can be divided into two components: a bandpass filter and a voxel filter. The bandpass filter serves to filter out the points outside a certain min and max range. Because the lower lidars are partially covered by the vehicle, they may there generate some hit points which are noise and irrelevant to the mapping process. The voxel filter is responsible for the downsampling of raw points into cubes of a constant size and only keeps the centroid of each cube. This action can reduce the original point cloud’s density while keeping its geometric features so that the computational load can decrease significantly.

The Cartographer package implements the SLAM module. It consists of the pose extrapolator, the scan matcher, loop closure and backend optimization.

The pose extrapolator fuses the previously estimated pose from the scan matcher and the IMU data based on the Unscented Kalman Filter to update the pose. This updated pose will be considered a reasonable initial estimate for the scan matcher [13].

The scan matcher estimates the autonomous shuttle’s pose based on the scan-to-map method. Once the optimal pose is found, the probabilities of grids in the submap will be updated accordingly. In the pose estimation, the scan matcher tries to solve a nonlinear least squares problem [8]:

where �� represents a transform between the scan frame and the submap frame, ℎ�� is the kth scan point. �� is a function mapping coordinate to probability values.

After the optional post of a scan is determined, the probability of the submap grid x is updated:

where ��hit is the initial probability for the grid which contains the hit points.

The created submaps, such as in Figure 5, are stored in memory for loop closure and backend graph optimization. When the current estimated pose is close to a visited submap, a scan matcher tries to find the corresponding observation in a search window around the submap. This step uses a variant branch-andbound approach to speed up the loop closure process. Once a good solution is found, it is added as a loop closing constraint to the sparse pose adjustment (SPA) problem, also known as the graph optimization problem [14]. Using Cartographer, the graph optimization process would re-arrange submaps between each other to form a coherent global map.

any new obstacles that were not previously recorded on the map. This navigation system has been implemented with ROS packages that are based on motion planning algorithms. Navigation of any autonomous vehicle relies on its current location, detected free space, and desired destination. Using a prebuilt global free space lidar map, nUWAy will need to be able to form a path to a given coordinate destination. The navigation of the shuttle will work in a waypoint-based system where it will navigate through multiple known waypoints before its destination to keep it centred inside the free area and away from obstacle edges. This means that the software will generate multiple local (smaller) paths using local cost trajectories to connect these waypoints. The following assumptions were made for the navigation of the vehicle:

• The vehicle has a lidar map for global path planning.

• The vehicle always has an active lidar view and IMU data.

• Vehicle localization is correct using a SLAM package.

• The vehicle tries from a safe distance to navigate around any obstacles instead of trying to predict their paths.

We use a unicycle model to represent the vehicle’s motion primi-tives since it has front and rear wheel steering. The created program needs to receive the desired destination, the map of the navigable area, and live lidar reading to create a kinematically feasible path for a time-efficient, predictable, safe behaviour. The system transmits ROS Twist messages for velocity and uses the ROS move_base navigation stack.

Finally, the completed offline generated map, along with the real-time localization information, is fed into the path planner for the navigation task.

3.1 Localization

The localization process is similar to the pose estimation process in SLAM but uses the created map. This process consists of several steps. Firstly, IMU measurements provide a rough estimate for the movement. This movement is used along with a previously estimated pose for extrapolating a new pose. After that, a scan matcher scores all possible poses within a search window around the newly estimated pose by comparing the lidar observation with the current submap, as shown in Figure 6. After the pose has been updated, a loop closure process is executed in a larger search window by comparing the lidar observation with the map provided in the mapping process. The final pose will be transmitted to the path planner and other modules.

3.2 Path Planning

The major problem is to develop a safe and predictable navigation system for nUWAy to navigate to a waypoint requested by a user using a lidar map while actively avoiding

Two planners have been selected, a global planner for the overall route and a local planner for reaching intermediate waypoints and avoiding unknown obstacles. The global path consists of (x, y) coordinates and a final orientation constrained to Ackermann (nonholonomic) kinematics. Note that the path created by the global planner does not consider the vehicle pose and purely determines the waypoints the vehicle should navigate through. However, the local planner requires desired orientations as well as (x, y) coordinates to navigate.

4. Vehicle Testing

Numerous problems were caused by the low processing speed of the vehicle’s onboard PC. In order to solve this, the local planner was downgraded to a simple goal-pass planner. The SLAM algorithm was then changed to a more widely supported and faster cartographer package than G-mapping. The SBPL and SLAM mapping resolution was transformed from an original 5 cm to a much coarser but sufficient

Figure 5. Submap of UWA campus generated with Cartographer

Figure 6. Lidar data visualization and localization for eight sensors

30 cm. This includes recalculating the motion primitives for the current resolution map. All other programs were ported from the main onboard PC to the secondary Nvidia Xavier computer system, leaving the main computer for communication, navigation, and SLAM. The SBPL settings were tuned for speed. Grid path behaviour, reduced inflation size, and use of the A* algorithm all sped up the processing of the navigation stack.

Vehicle path generation tests were conducted with the new system setup and reduced map resolution, whereby the path generating occurs at a much higher speed of a maximum of about two seconds. This includes using a simpler local planner, reducing the sensory inputs, and running the system at a lower resolution. On the other hand, reducing the map resolution also reduced the amount and type of movements available to the vehicle’s navigation.

As seen in Figure 7, the paths generated with the simplified system were much more rigid. This was mainly due to the tuning and resolution change of the base SBPL package [15].

Figure 8 shows multiple path recordings between two stops in a busy pedestrian environment on campus. The vehicle repeatedly plans the same path between the two locations and adjusts its path to accommodate other traffic in the area.

5. Vehicle Simulation

A simulation environment for the autonomous shuttle bus was designed based on Carla as a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system [16]. This was later converted to a pure software simulation, as the HIL component did not improve the performance or accuracy of our system. As part of the simulation environment, a digital version of the whole UWA university campus has been developed together with a model of the autonomous shuttle bus. Users can conve-niently set up and execute driving experiments with this system.

5. Mirror mode: using the real vehicle’s GPS coordinates in simulation.

6. Conclusion

This paper has shown the successful implementation of a complete software stack for autonomous driving for a commercial

Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour, vol. 70, pp. 109-123, 2020, doi: 10.1016/j. trf.2020.02.008.

[5] A. Hartmannsgruber, J. Seitz, M. Schreier, M. Strauss, N. Balbierer, and A. Hohm, “CUbE: A Research Platform for Shared Mobility and Autonomous Driving in Urban Environments,” in 2019 IEEE Intelligent Vehicles Symposium (IV), 9-12 June 2019 2019, pp. 2315-2322, doi: 10.1109/ IVS.2019.8813902.

[6] R. Sell, M. Leier, A. Rassõlkin, and J.-P. Ernits, “Autonomous Last Mile Shuttle ISEAUTO for Education and Research,” International Journal of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 18-30, 2020, doi: 10.4018/ ijaiml.2020010102.

[7] A. Bucchiarone, S. Battisti, A. Marconi, R. Maldacea, and D. C. Ponce, “Autonomous Shuttleas-a-Service (ASaaS): Challenges, Opportunities, and Social Implications,” IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems, vol. 22, no. 6, pp. 3790-3799, 2021, doi: 10.1109/tits.2020.3025670.

[8] W. Hess, D. Kohler, H. Rapp, and D. Andor, “Real-time loop closure in 2D LIDAR SLAM,” in 2016 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), 2016, pp. 1271-1278, doi: 10.1109/icra.2016.7487258.

drive-by-wire shuttle bus. The system includes mapping, localization, path planning and simulation based on open-source ROS packages and software developed by the UWA/ REV team. No proprietary software from the shuttle manufacturer was used. Currently in development is a fleet management system for multiple autonomous shuttles with on-demand service requests from mobile phones and a new user interface/ information display for shuttle passengers.

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge all REV sponsors, inclu-ding Allkem, Synergy, CD Dodd, DyFlex, Tesla Roadster Inc., Tesla Slack, Tesla Owners Club WA, Tesla Owners Club Australia, and Altronics, as well as all the UWA groups that helped fund this autonomous shuttle bus project, including the UWA Business School/ Transport Science, PATREC, School of Physics, Mathe-matics and Computing, and the UWA Innovation Quarter.

References

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For simulator operation, we implemented five different modes:

1. Manual mode: driving the vehicle with manual controls.

2. Lidar autonomous mode: driving with the lidar-based navigation stack.

3. Computer vision autonomous mode: driving the shuttle with OpenCV-based vision algorithms

4. Neural network autonomous mode: using a deep learning neural network model for shuttle control

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Figure 7. RViz visualization of shuttle environment and paths

Figure 8. Repeated path recordings

Figure 8. nUWAy shuttle simulation in Carla