Engineers from Sii Poland have created a racing Siimulator in the Passion Sponsorship Program – feel the emotions like from a F1 track
The Gdansk branch of Sii Poland recently held the premiere of a racing car simulator – a machine designed and constructed by a group of engineers as part of the Passion Sponsorship Program. Siimulator, the construction of which for many months was a technological challenge and an opportunity to develop competencies for programmers and mechanical engineers, was placed in the recreation area of the Gdańsk office after obtaining certification. Any employee can sign up for a car ride and experience the unforgettable emotions of a driver racing on the track.
Submitted to Passion Sponsorship Program as a non-commercial project, Siimulator was primarily a dream and technological challenge of a group of engineers from Sii Gdańsk. The uniqueness of the project rested in building a realistic racing simulator largely based on the competence of people working in the company. The machine was designed and built thanks to the cooperation of specialists Sii Poland with 3 Competence Centers: Embedded, Engineering and Digital.
– Mechanical engineers from the Engineering Competence Centre have completed all projects – says Adam Karnowski, Site Security & Service Desk Manager at Sii Poland, a project leader, responsible for coordination and purchasing. – We ordered a set for motion simulation: linear servos and control electronics, as well as aluminium elements of the housing structure. Then we made a number of the necessary parts ourselves, e.g. Buttonbox, that is, the machine switch or all modifications to the frame. Our developers have written software to monitor the launch of the servo driver and control during the game the functions of the car. It gives us the ability to map functions in the game, e.g. adjust the degree of interference traction control, ABS or turn on the lights. We also made starting control electronics, pedalier adjustment systems and safety system – says Adam Karnowski.
– The simulator reproduces the peculiarities of driving a real racing car thanks to the system of linear servos – reveals Kornel Piestrzeniewicz, Software Engineer in Sii Poland, a technical leader of the project. “They use three degrees of freedom for this purpose: pitch, roll, yaw/rear, while at the same time high feed speed, mimicking the movement of the car while driving. Pitch and roll is carried out with the help of two linear serves, attached to the seat frame, which is positioned on the joint in order to block the yaw axis. The third servo strapping the bottom frame with the upper part partially simulates yaw. This solution allows for a real simulation of the sliding of the rear axle. We can also mimic effects that require strong, fast and short jerks, such as ignition cut-off, hitch rollover, gear shifting. It’s all fun to ride!, he adds.
Feel the emotions like from an F1 track at Sii Gdansk
10 people from Sii Poland’s team participated in the construction of the simulator: constructors, mechanical designers, mechanics for the construction of the car, programmers for the concept of the control system, embedded programmers in the electronic part and a Control Engineer in the preparation of electrical documentation. – The implementation of the project was a great opportunity to develop individual competencies of each of us, but also a chance to create an interesting team integrated around a unique technological challenge! It required discipline and a lot of overtime work, but I think each of us enjoyed it a lot. And we still do it every time we sit behind the wheel of our Siimulator or see how our friends are having fun while driving – says Adam Karnowski.
The simulator built at the Gdansk branch of Sii Poland is a prototype that underwent quite significant changes during its construction. – At the design stage, we focused on the main elements of mechanics. Later, we developed the project, modifying the structure, changing the pedalier adjustment system, additional speaker mounts, or the gearshift and handbrake lever – says Katarzyna Suwińska, mechanic constructor from Engineering Competence Center at Sii Poland.
The final stage of the adventure with the construction of the Siimulator was its certification. – According to EU law, approval of the machine for use in the company is tantamount to putting it into use in the European Union, and here the regulations clearly specify that the manufacturer must certify that all the required standards have been met by issuing a CE declaration of conformity. In this process, we used TS CERT Ltd. specializing in security audits and compliance assessment. They showed us points for improvement and helped with the preparation of appropriate documentation, thanks to which our Siimulator finally received the CE mark, which means compliance with the EU machinery directive – says Kornel Piestrzeniewicz.
The implementation of the simulator construction project was possible thanks to the grant obtained from the Passion Sponsorship Program, for which (together with Sii Power Volunteers Program) Sii Poland allocates PLN 500,000 each year. The project aims to support the development of private passions of employees, whose diversity is impressive with each subsequent recruitment. The company’s team includes people with outstanding achievements in various fields: in sports, in cultural and technical projects.
– This is yet another non-commercial technological project implemented in the Program – says Katarzyna Domańska, CSR Manager at Sii Poland, responsible for the Passion Sponsorship Program. – The company has already supported its employees in developing an eco-farm based on artificial intelligence, a construction of sumo robot, engineers’ activities in local Hackerspaces in Kraków and Wrocław. Siimulator is the largest of such projects. Now our employees in the Gdansk branch can compete with the best drivers on the tracks all over the world – she adds.
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