A GO-KART-SIZED RESEARCH CAR AS A TEACHING AND MOTIVATION TOOL FOR STUDENTS

Higher education with innovative programmes

The University of Applied Sciences Bingen (UAS Bingen) is well-known in industry and economy for a qualified, practice-related as well as future-oriented education in technology. With approximately 2,500 students enrolled, its manageable size of two faculties allows studying with personal contact between students and teaching staff in pleasant surroundings.
Altogether 10 Bachelor programmes along with 7 Master Programmes in both, Faculty 1 (Life Sciences & Engineering) plus Faculty 2 (Engineering, Computer Science & Economy) have led to an increasingly demanded study offer.
Research at the UAS Bingen is application-oriented generally taking place in close cooperation with or on behalf of industry needs.

In 2003, the UAS Bingen kart-project was jointly initiated by students and industry-university cooperation. It is meant to demonstrate the difference between working and non-working safety installations. In addition, future and current students´ interest in technology is enhanced.
The kart has been completely designed and developed employing 3D-CAD. The forces, moments and tightness were calculated by programs written exclusively for this purpose. The chassis is designed with aluminium profiles. With the help of finite element program the frame was analysed. The attained cognitions were used to optimise the frame in consideration of stiffness and weight. The limited slip differential with a variable locking ratio can be set from outside and is variable at a certain range. Due to the variability an optimum between cornering performance and power transmission is guaranteed for different demands. The kart possesses a double A-arm suspension with the utmost degrees of freedom in kinematics and advantages to achieve the best performance and driving behaviour.
In May 2004, students presented the first results of the concepts at the “FISITA“, the World-Congress of Automotive-Engineering in Barcelona. Subsequently, the first hardware presentation of the first Student Teaching and Research Car (STARC 1) took place at FISITA 2008 in Munich.
On the Frankfurt Auto Show IAA 2009 STARC 2 with ABS, E-Motor, fuel cells and H2-tanks was presented to the automotive industry and international public.
This interdisciplinary project involves students from the departments of mechanical engineering, electrical and business engineering. Apart from the obligatory subjects during the study programme, the students choose this project as an elective subject. One of the countless benefits for educational skills hereby is the preparation of the students for the leap from university to the job in the industry. Alongside the technological knowledge the students acquire extra skills in cost-efficient design, testing, project management, procurement, advertising and team working.
Didactically speaking, the kart project mirrors the real-life procedures in the automotive industry. Starting with the virtual car, followed by the strategic planning and scheduling of production, material as well as machinery, the project leads to the final assembly of the kart. During the successive test phase the performance of the “prototype kart” is put to the proof by test engineers only. Later on the driving manoeuvres are also granted to students or pupils as a means of recruitment of future students.