Project Teams

Frame

System Lead: Darren Chen (dchen61@u.rochester.edu)

Darren Chen is a sophomore, mechanical engineering major from Taipei. This is his second year on the team. He previously served as a team member in the shop working on frame manufacturing and design.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The frame team is in charge of designing, testing, and manufacturing the chassis for the vehicle. Siemens NX is used for the design, finite element analysis and simulations of the different stresses on the chassis. In addition, the frame team collaborates with the electronics and instrumentation team to perform physical testing using strain gauges in order to validate the load cases calculated in the design programs.

Drivetrain

System Lead: Anjeli Estrada (aestrad5@u.rochester.edu)

Anjeli Estrada is a junior studying mechanical engineering with a minor in computer science. She is from Ecuador and Guatemala and it is her third year on the team. Previously, she was the frame team lead.

Subsystem Leads:

Roles and Responsibilities:

The drivetrain team is responsible for powering the car. Typically, our vehicles run a CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) from the engine to a double stage reduction gearbox attached directly to the wheels. We design and manufacture a new gearbox every year. We are also responsible for tuning the CVT once the car is complete to achieve maximum performance by balancing top speed, torque, and acceleration.

 

Suspension

System Lead: Jiatong Sun (jsun48@u.rochester.edu)

Jiatong Sun is a junior, mechanical engineering and business major from Beijing, China. This is his third year on the team, and he previously served as a team member in the shop working on suspension and design analysis.

Subsystem Leads:

Roles and Responsibilities:

The suspension is all hardware that connects the tires to the chassis, allowing for relative motion between the two. The design of a vehicle’s suspension is the determining factor in its handling characteristics; traits such as turning radius, roll while turning sharply, or response to driving over an obstacle. To design and manufacture the suspension, the suspension project team makes use of a variety of CAD and finite element analysis tools (such as Siemens NX and SolidWorks) as well as manufacturing techniques such as CNC machining, milling, lathing, and welding. Once the suspension has been built and mounted, the suspension team is responsible for tuning the suspension to match our drivers’ preferred handling traits and terrain, as well as being ready to swiftly replace broken parts during a race.

Usability

System Lead: Marcela Hinojosa (mhinojo4@u.rochester.edu)

Subsystem Leads:

Roles and Responsibilities:

“Ergonomics” at UR Baja SAE refers to how efficiently we can design the components that relate to the safety of the driver. What do we mean by efficiency? An efficient design should be a workable model that is as weightless as possible, while also being keeping in mind the budget that we are working with, but we are willing to spend as much money as possible it means that we can secure the safety of our drivers.

We at the Ergonomics Team from UR Baja SAE focus on the optimization of the various composites that make up the bulk of the driver’s cabin based on the regulations placed by the official SAE Baja organization. We have broken down the Ergonomics Team by three sections: Steering, Brakes and Composites, in order to distribute the workload to realistically meet our deadlines.

Electronics & Instrumentation

System Lead: Jacob Weingard (jweinga2@u.rochester.edu)

Jacob Weingard is a sophomore engineering sciences major from NYC, New York. This is his second year on the team and first as the Electronics and Instrumentation lead.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The Electronics & Instrumentation team is responsible for all electrical systems on the vehicle, and for gathering data which validates the design decisions made for the vehicle, completing the design cycle. Innovating new and exciting ways to validate strain, speed, heat, kinematics, pressure, and everything in between is the name of the game for the Electronics & Instrumentation division.

Subsystem: Power Distribution

Subsystem Lead: Kaan Aytekin (kaytekin@u.rochester.edu)Kaan Aytekin is a sophomore mechanical engineering student from Istanbul, Turkey. This is his second year in the team, and he has previously worked as a team member working in the shop and in CAD.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The power distribution team focuses on transmitting power from the engine to the wheel hubs. This includes design of halfshafts and their connection methods to the rest of the car. We work closely with the suspension and drivetrain teams to ensure the car is able to accelerate at peak performance without interference with other components.

Subsystem: Steering

Subsystem Lead: Sam Zeltzman (sthom68@u.rochester.edu)

Samuel is a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Buffalo, New York. He was previously a team member who helped with a variety of sub systems.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The steering subsystem includes everything from the steering arm connections on the uprights to the steering wheel. In order to properly optimize this subsystem, many things need to occur. This includes conducting turning radius tests, motion simulations for steering rack mobility, FEA on steering rack supports and more. Key responsibilities include optimizing the turning radius and optimization for driver comfort/ease of use when steering the vehicle.

Subsystem: Brakes

Subsystem Lead: Arthur Chen (achen110@u.rochester.edu)

Arthur Chen is a sophomore chemical engineering major from Perrysburg, Ohio.  This is his second year on the team, and he has previously worked as a team member on the electronics team.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The brakes team is responsible for ensuring that the driver is able to stop the car.  A good braking system is a necessity in order to ensure that the driver and any spectators remain safe when the car is driving.  We work closely with the ergonomics team to ensure the driver is able to comfortably interact with the braking system.

Subsystem: Composites

Subsystem Lead: Miles Owens (mowens13@u.rochester.edu)

Miles Owens is a sophomore mechanical engineering major from Orinda, California. This is his first year on the BAJA design board team and he previously worked on the usability team.

Roles and Responsibilities:

Composite materials, or materials produced from two or more constituent materials, can be very useful on a baja car if implemented correctly. While metals like steel and aluminum are convenient to build with, they are very heavy in comparison to composite materials such as fiberglass or carbon fiber. The composites team works with multiple other teams to implement these materials into other subsystems within the car with the overall goal of minimizing weight while increasing the structural integrity of the car.

CAD System Integration

System Lead: Marvin Calderon (mcalder4@u.rochester.edu)

 

Roles and Responsibilities:

 

Project: Autonomous Vehicle

Project Lead: Sam Kriegsman (skriegsm@u.rochester.edu)

Sam is a junior, computer science major from East Brunswick, New Jersey. This is her third year on the team and she previously worked in the electronics team and Autonomous Vehicle project.

Roles and Responsibilities:

The Baja Autonomous Car will provide a highly controlled testing platform for data collection. The ability to control and measure engine rpm, brake pressure, and steering angle allows tests to be controlled and errors to be accounted for. Utilizing ROS, the car will be able to interpret multiple sensors and control itself in real time. From a real time kinematics system giving it centimeter level accuracy of latitude, longitude, and elevation to brake pressure and a 3-axis gyroscope to measure tilt.

At higher levels of autonomy the car will be able to repetitively complete tasks allowing for tests on how components wear out overtime before ever using them in an endurance race. Finally at the highest level of autonomy the car will be able to strategically plot a course when traversing terrain in a race giving human drivers helpful pointers.