Biomedical Engineering Society

CASE: Controls And Steering Engineering

Our Goal

Our goal is to develop an assistive driving system for a student at CSU with no arms. This includes designing, prototyping, and building a mechanical foot-steering system as well as an electronic control panel which enables accessible turn signals, blinker use, and other vital electronics that one needs to drive safely. Last year marked the start of this project and V1, which consisted of testing, developing, and integrating our initial design into a race simulator. This year with V2, we continue to advance our design and hope to transfer our work into a street-legal car.

Full Simulator with Monitor

V1: Modified Race Simulator

Over the course of the Spring 2023 semester, we utilized the I2P 3D Printing Lab to successfully design a mechanical foot-steering system and adjustable electronic control panel with a display screen, which were then integrated into a donated NextLevel Racing F-GT driving simulator. Components of the steering mechanism were modeled in SolidWorks. The parts that were made out of sheet metal were cut from water jets, while the rest were 3D printed. The control panel and display screen were also 3D printed, of which we took into account user comfort, safety, and accessibility.

In future semesters, we’ll learn from Technical Design Reviews with Industry and Faculty and implement that newfound knowledge to develop a system for a small vehicle.

Original Racing SImulator

Original Racing Simulator

Painting and Assembling

Several weekends before E-days, each part was spray painted for a cleaner look. During this time, we also made last-minute modifications to the electronics and was able to successfully hookup our technology with the original simulator.

E-Days at CSU

2023

On April 24, we showcased our progress at E-days. Hosted by the ECC, this event was an opportunity for clubs to present their progress to the public as well as display the Senior Design Projects. As part of our display, we had our customized racing simulator hooked up to a monitor so people could test drive the design for themselves! We believe that this event was a huge success and are excited to start version 2 of this project.

Read more by checking out these articles!

SOURCE: Engineering real-world biomedical solutions hits home for business major Jian Cohen

Coloradoan: CSU engineering students design devices so man without arms can ‘live like everyone else’

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2024

Despite the cold and rain, we were able to showcase our progress at E-Days on April 19. Building on our display from the previous year, the customized racing simulator that is hooked up to a monitor, we brought out the Subaru Baja that is being customized to implement the design. Viewers were able to test the simulator as well as see the beginning of the implementation in the Baja. This event was a great success and we enjoyed sharing the great progress that’s been made!

V2: Further Developments and Design

Throughout the Fall of 2023, we have continued to modify and advance our designs made from the previous year. Much work has been made related to the steering mechanism and control center for this adaptive design. Our teams have also grown and we now have four solid areas of focus: Steering, Controls, Electronics, and Legal. In the Spring of 2024, we were able to obtain a street-legal Subaru Baja to begin the implementation process.

Steering
Electronics
Controls
Implementation