CTU CarTech – first hybrid formula car
Since 2007, the Formula Student team at Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague has been building an improved competition car every year according to international rules. They use the latest technologies in the construction. The individual subgroups of the 30-strong team are dedicated to the design of aerodynamics, chassis, suspension, electronics and powertrain, so each student gets to test their knowledge and technical skills in practice. At international competitions, the car is judged by a strict committee. The CTU CarTech formula regularly takes top places. In recent years it has even had 2 overall victories. The FS.14 became the world's first hybrid student formula car. In addition to a 62 kW internal combustion engine, the formula is powered by two electric motors on the front axle with a total maximum output of 9 kW.
Robot will prepare coffee for you
When visiting the exhibition of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of CTU, you can also enjoy coffee prepared by the world's first collaborative robot, the YuMi robot. In an improvised coffee workplace, the robot also involves humans in the preparation of the drink. The guest chooses a type of coffee and places the capsule on a designated point. He then taps the robot on one of its arms, and YuMi starts the coffee preparation and then serves the filled cup.
The robot can operate two coffee machines at the same time very quickly and thus serve more customers. The complete design and implementation of the workplace, including all jigs and parallel fingers for the robot tool, were created by students of the Institute of Machining Technology, Design and Metrology of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of CTU.
Virtual Nuclear Power Plant CENELÍN
Visitors to the exhibition will be able to enter a virtual model of the CENELÍN nuclear power plant using VR glasses. This is a long-term project, the primary goal of which is to create a database of detailed digital 3D models of the nuclear power plant by students and academics from Czech universities and secondary schools for teaching purposes and in cooperation with industry experts. Another goal is to popularize nuclear energy and the nuclear industry among students and the general public.
Work on the project began in early 2013. Within the semester works, modelling of main and secondary components of the primary circuit of a nuclear power plant with a pressurized water reactor is being carried out. The vision of the project is to extend the teaching to other faculties of the CTU in Prague, the Brno University of Technology and other universities in the future and to further connect academia with industry. The latest version already includes all the main components of the primary circuit of the VVER 1000 pressurised water reactor and allows you to explore the plant through virtual reality glasses as well as on a regular personal computer. The virtual environment of the plant allows you to uncover the outer layers of the objects and see details that are often not visible even to the plant employees.
Chytrý Boxie – a more convenient delivery of parcels directly to your home
With a smart parcel box, there is no need to personally pick up parcels at home, at the post office or in a depository. Simply add the necessary equipment to the home mailbox or replace it with a new one and the recipient saves a lot of time. Upon delivery, the recipient copies the parcel number into Boxie's web app. A courier from any carrier will then deliver the parcel to the home box and the recipient will collect it at their convenience, the time limit is unlimited. Delivery can be checked on the web app linked to the camera and scale. The smart box in Fresh Boxie design can also handle chilled food or, conversely, hot food.
Boxie was developed by HESTEGO, a. s. in cooperation with Institute of Production Machines and Equipment of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague, as one of the results of the SMART HESTEGO project - Parameterization of new products and automation of the process of development, design and introduction into production.
Smart graphene-based fabric for thermal regulation of the body
You will see the result of the cooperation between Institute of Materials Engineering of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and the company GrapheneUP, which is TRIO - a smart textile based on graphene, and will present T-shirts made with this technology.
GrapheneUP SE, a leading graphene producer with the largest production of multilayer graphene in Europe, in cooperation with Faculty of Mechanical Engineering of the Czech Technical University in Prague, has developed and launched new graphene-based products for the textile industry. The graphene-based coating ink for the textile industry is made from GUP® multilayer graphene and designed to provide excellent properties: it is antiviral (ISO 18184:2019) also for SARS-CoV-2, anti-static, with excellent abrasion resistance and thermal regulation properties. This project was implemented with financial support from the state budget through Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic in the TRIO programme.
Virtual welding
The exhibition of Faculty of Mechanical Engineering will also include an interactive exhibit. Every visitor will be able to try welding on the Soldmatic simulator for electric arc welding with Augmented Reality (AR). The simulator is a device for training the welder's skills, it evaluates the quality of the weld, can inform about the need to virtually clean the slag and warn about possible defects. In addition to teaching, it provides other benefits: it works with visual and acoustic sensations that mimic real welding, minimizes risks without complex safety measures, and does not need a strong source of electricity or any materials or tools.
Chicken Wings CTU
This student team is based at Institute of Aircraft Engineering at the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. They are involved in the creation of competitive drones and represent the university excellently at global SAE competitions. This year they won 6th place in a though international competition in Los Angeles! The latest prototype from the Chicken Wings CTU team is the Jan Hus aircraft, which was first unveiled at the ACC 2022 competition symbolically on July 6, which is the patron´s day. The leading scoring criteria for the timed flight mission and engine performance were total flight path, deviation from the specified target maximum flight altitude, cargo weight or runway length.
CTU Space Research
The student rocket team develops, builds and tests powerful rockets and other space technologies. Enthusiastic students are involved in the development of propulsion, construction, avionics and design of the rocket and want to represent CTU at domestic and international competitions. The competitions consist of rocket design, fabrication, assembly and launch with a relatively powerful model engine. The rocket must launch in a controlled manner, so students must also construct the launch pad. The highest ascent and best design solution wins. This year, it participated in a student-oriented rocket development competition in the Czech Republic, the Czech Rocket Challenge. In a competition of more than seventy university teams, it came in third place! They plan to demonstrate a solid fuel rocket at future international competitions. At the same time they are developing the Illustria rocket for European Rocketry Challenge 2023 in Portugal.
Tensegrity
The tensegrity demonstration is based on the results of the basic research project "Mechatronic tensegrity for energy-efficient lightweight robots". The term tensegrity is a combination of the words tension and integrity. Basically, they are stable structures consisting of pushed elements, most often rigid rods, and pulled elements, which connect the rods by stretched prestressed ropes and thus ensure the stability of the whole system. Their compactness, lightness and considerable durability make them ideal structures for foldable structures that can be applied in building construction or in mobile robots for space missions.