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Training / Education

A Familiarization of Drivetrain Components

In this course, participants will be exposed to various methods that can be used to accomplish an efficient, robust & quiet running drivetrain. This course focuses on the terms, functions, nomenclature, operating characteristics and effect on vehicle performance for each of the drivetrain components. Participants will receive an introduction to the various components of the drivetrain, including the clutch or torque converter, manual or automatic transmission, driveshaft, axle, wheel ends, and brakes.

Training / Education

The Tire as a Vehicle Component

The principal functions of the pneumatic tire are to generate driving, braking, and cornering forces while safely carrying the vehicle load and providing adequate levels of ride comfort. This course explains how tire forces and moments are generated under different operating and service conditions and, in turn, demonstrates how these forces and moments influence various vehicle responses such as braking, handling, ride, and high-speed performance. The content focuses on the fundamentals of tire behavior in automobiles, trucks, and farm tractors, but also includes experimental and empirical results, when necessary. 

Training / Education

Tire and Wheel Safety Issues

One of the most important safety critical components on cars, trucks, and aircraft is the pneumatic tire. Vehicle tires primarily control stopping distances on wet and dry roads or runways and strongly influence over-steer/under-steer behavior in handling maneuvers of cars and trucks. The inflated tire-wheel assembly also acts as a pressure vessel that releases a large amount of energy when catastrophically deflated. The tire can also serve as a fulcrum, both directly and indirectly, in contributing to vehicle rollover. This course covers these facets of tire safety phenomena.

Training / Education

Applied Brake Controls Test Track Experience ABS, TCS, and ESC

  Take notes.  Take a spin.  Repeat.  Six classroom modules (2 each for ABS, TCS and ESC!) are paired with six driving modules on a real-world ice and snow development test track in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.  There's no better way to reinforce classroom learning than by grabbing the steering wheel.  All of the driving exercises have been specifically developed so that anyone can hop in the car and immediately link what you have just learned in the classroom.  

Training / Education

High-Performance Brake Systems

While most passenger car brake systems are quite robust and reliable under typical operating conditions, high-performance driving and/or racetrack operation generally require alternative design solutions to optimize consistency and longevity. Whether it is brake fluid fade, cracked rotor discs, chronic knockback, or insufficient brake pad life, the stresses of motorsports can pose unique challenges to even the very best brake system designs.

Training / Education

Intelligent Vehicles From Functional Framework to Vehicle Architecture

This course provides an overview of state-of-the-art intelligent vehicles, presents a systematic framework for intelligent technologies and vehicle-level architecture, and introduces testing methodologies to evaluate individual and integrated intelligent functions. Considering the increasing demand for vehicle intelligence, it is critical to gain an understanding of the growing variety of intelligent vehicle technologies and how they must function together effectively as a system.

Training / Education

Big Data Analytics for Connected, Autonomous Vehicles and Smart Cities

There is a growing interest in the concept of a smart city and how these advanced technologies will improve the quality of living and make a city more attractive to visitors, commerce and industry. This course fills an unmet need for defining and explaining the relationship between connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) and smart city transportation. It is apparent that CAVs will achieve the best results when integrated with current and emerging urban infrastructure for transportation. This course addresses such integration from technology, organizational, policy and business model perspectives.

Training / Education

Problem Solving and Root Cause Analysis

This course is verified by Probitas as meeting the AS9104/3A requirements for Continuing Professional Development. Problems arise in all facets of life. This is particularly true in the business world. Problems impact all aspects of an organization’s operations such as; product development, product quality, process efficiency, marketing efforts, human relations, leadership efforts, financial execution and ultimate profitability. If these problems are not addressed, they inhibit the operation of the business and can eventually result in total failure.

Training / Education

Analysis and Design of Hybrid Transmission System

This course is offered in China only and presented in Mandarin Chinese. There appears to be a significant gap between Chinese and international hybrid technologies in terms of vehicle fuel consumption, system integration, and cost control. This course has been designed to increase an engineers’ knowledge of hybrid transmission development, hybrid system design, and hybrid vehicle powertrain integration. The course focuses on energy efficiency in electric vehicles (EV) and hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) fuel economy while maintaining and improving engineering for optimal power and performance, cost control, and occupant comfort.

Training / Education

Overview of the Role of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles in Smart Cities

There is been tremendous progress in the application of technology and artificial intelligence to connected and autonomous vehicles. At the same time, there have been considerable advances in data science and data analysis that allows large data sets to be managed for results. This course introduces big data and analytics, focusing on how these will be applied to data generated by autonomous and connected vehicles. These technologies will be explained within the context of a smart city.

Training / Education

Fundamentals of Vehicle Suspension Design

2024-12-03

The design and development of vehicle suspensions significantly influences vehicle handling and ride comfort. Suspension system design excellence follows the basic laws of physics using design synthesis techniques, a methodical process for suspension geometry development. Suspension geometry is the foundation of vehicle performance from which high-confidence suspension components and tunings can be developed. Suspension component design continues to move toward mass and cost efficient designs with high levels of stiffness being essential to achieving design requirements.

Training / Education

Introduction to Car Hacking with CANbus

2024-11-13

Vehicle cybersecurity vulnerabilities could impact a vehicle's safe operation. Therefore, engineers should ensure that systems are designed free of unreasonable risks to motor vehicle safety, including those that may result due to existence of potential cybersecurity vulnerabilities. The automotive industry is making vehicle cybersecurity an organizational priority.

Training / Education

Vehicle Dynamics for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

2024-10-07

This course will present an introduction to vehicle dynamics from a vehicle system perspective. The theory and applications are associated with the interaction and performance balance between the powertrain, brakes, steering, suspensions and wheel and tire vehicle subsystems.  The role that vehicle dynamics can and should play in effective automotive chassis development and the information and technology flow from vehicle system to subsystem to piece-part is integrated into the presentation. Governing equations of motion are developed and solved for both steady and transient conditions.

Training / Education

Applied Vehicle Dynamics

2024-09-23

Take notes! Take the wheel! There is no better place to gain an appreciation for vehicle dynamics than from the driver’s seat. Spend three, intense days with a world-renowned vehicle dynamics engineer and SAE Master Instructor, his team of experienced industry engineers, and the BMW-trained professional driving instructors. They will guide you as you work your way through 12 classroom modules learning how and why vehicles go, stop and turn. Each classroom module is immediately followed by an engaging driving exercise on BMW’s private test track.

Training / Education

ADAS Application Automatic Emergency Braking

2024-09-19

Active safety and (ADAS) are now being introduced to the marketplace as they serve as key enablers for anticipated autonomous driving systems. Automatic emergency braking (AEB) is one ADAS application which is either in the marketplace presently or under development as nearly all automakers have pledged to offer this technology by the year 2022. This one-day course is designed to provide an overview of the typical ADAS AEB system from multiple perspectives.

Training / Education

Introduction to Brake Control Systems ABS, TCS, and ESC

2024-09-19

Electronic brake control systems are required standard equipment on cars and trucks. Vehicles benefit from optimized braking, enhanced acceleration, and improved stability that these systems provide. The instructor introduces participants to system-level design considerations, vehicle interface requirements, and inevitable performance compromises that need to be addressed when implementing these technologies. Participants will begin by defining the tire-road interface and analyzing fundamental vehicle dynamics.

Training / Education

Vehicle Crash Reconstruction Principles and Technology

2024-09-17

Crash reconstruction is a scientific process that utilizes principles of physics and empirical data to analyze the physical, electronic, video, audio, and testimonial evidence from a crash to determine how and why the crash occurred. This course will introduce this reconstruction process as it gets applied to various crash types - in-line and intersection collisions, pedestrian collisions, motorcycle crashes, rollover crashes, and heavy truck crashes. Methods of evidence documentation will be covered. Analysis methods will also be presented for electronic data from event data recorders and for video.

Training / Education

Photogrammetry and Analysis of Digital Media

2024-08-28

Photographs and video recordings of vehicle crashes and accident sites are more prevalent than ever, with dash mounted cameras, surveillance footage, and personal cell phones now ubiquitous. The information contained in these pictures and videos provide critical information to understanding how crashes occurred, and  analyze physical evidence. This course teaches the theory and techniques for getting the most out of digital media, including correctly processing raw video and photographs, correcting for lens distortion, and using photogrammetric techniques to convert the information in digital media to usable scaled three-dimensional data.

Training / Education

Fundamentals of Steering Systems

2024-08-13

Design and development of a modern steering system influences vehicle response to steering wheel input, driver effort, comfort, safety and fuel economy. In this interactive course participants will analyze the steering system from the road wheel to the steering wheel. Day one will begin with a deep dive into the anatomy and architecture of the lower steering system (wheel end, suspension geometry, linkages and steering gear), its effect on vehicle response and how forces and moments at the contact patch are converted to a torque at the pinion.

Training / Education

Exploration of Machine Learning and Neural Networks for ADAS and L4 Vehicle Perception

2024-07-18

Convolutional neural networks are the de facto method of processing camera, radar, and lidar data for use in perception in ADAS and L4 vehicles, yet their operation is a black box to many engineers. Unlike traditional rules-based approaches to coding intelligent systems, networks are trained and the internal structure created during the training process is too complex to be understood by humans, yet in operation networks are able to classify objects of interest at error rates better than rates achieved by humans viewing the same input data.