SYDNEY, Australia – June 29, 2010 – Electronic design software company Altium is doing its part to help college students from across North America develop the next wave of automobiles from eco friendly and solar to high-performance. This month, collegiate engineering teams from Missouri University Science & Tech, University of Minnesota, and McMaster University will put their creations – created with the aid of Altium Designer -- to the test against other teams in North America and abroad.
“In competitions like these, real-world pressures are often magnified. Everyone is short of time. Repairs are constant, as is fine-tuning,” said Matt Schwaiger, senior vice president of global customer success at Altium. “So it’s great to help tomorrow’s professional engineers innovate before they’re even out of college.”
Students at Missouri University Science & Tech are in the second year of the three- year EcoCAR Challenge. Using Altium Designer, they developed a prototype advanced technology vehicle designed to decrease emissions and increase fuel efficiency. Vehicles will be judged in categories similar to the vehicle categories from the California Air Resources Board zero emissions vehicle regulations. The Twitter hashtag for the competition is #ecocar.
Every two years, members of the University of Minnesota Solar Vehicle Project (UMNSVP) research, design, and construct a solar vehicle to race against entries from around the world in the 2010 American Solar Challenge. Building off years of work done by previous teams, the team used Altium’s solution to redesign all of the electrical systems on the car with an eye towards reliability and ease of maintenance. “We’re driving over 1,200 miles so the car has to be efficient and reliable,” said Nate Bolyard, UMNSVP Electrical Team Lead. “The car has about 10 discrete systems and each has up to four boards designed with Altium Designer. The software helped us make the car's system really modular and helped with mechanical integration, so inevitably when we have to stop and service the car it’ll be easy to switch things out.”
The Formula SAE Team at McMaster University conceived, designed, and fabricated a small, formula-style, autocross racing car that will compete against almost 80 other teams this spring. These high-performance cars are judged in terms of acceleration, braking, and handling qualities at Formula SAE competitions across the U.S.
More information on Altium Designer is on Altium’s web site. More detailed information on Altium Designer and the new NanoBoard 3000 is at the Altium Wiki.
ENDS
Contacts:
Jeff Hardison
McClenahan Bruer
www.mcbru.com
Telephone: +1-503-546-1009
Email: jeff@mcbru.com
Alan Smith
Altium Limited
www.altium.com
Telephone: +61 2 8622 8109
Email: alan.smith@altium.com
About Altium
Altium Limited (ASX:ALU) creates electronics design software based on the belief that anyone who wants to create electronic products that make a difference should be able to do so. Altium’s unified electronics design environment links all aspects of electronics product design in a single application that is priced to be as affordable as possible. This helps electronics designers break down barriers to innovation, harness the latest devices and technologies, manage their projects across broad design ‘ecosystems’, and create connected, intelligent designs.
Founded in 1985, Altium has headquarters in Sydney, and operates worldwide. For more information, visit www.altium.com.
Altium, Altium Designer and LiveDesign, and their respective logos, are trademarks or registered trademarks of Altium Limited, or its subsidiaries. All other registered or unregistered trademarks mentioned in this release are the property of their respective owners, and no trademark rights to the same are claimed.
