Student Innovations & Projects

The Indy Robot Racing Team from Indiana competed in the DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Grand Challenge, a competitive field test to accelerate research and development of autonomous ground vehicles. The Indy Racers used energy chain cable carriers in their vehicle to house and protect routing cables and wires for 11 sensors, two cameras and one servomotor.

Students from Sam Houston State University used enclosed cable carriers and continuous-flex cables from igus® on a CNC retrofit of a 1970s vintage optical tracer torch-cutting table. Energy Tube protected Chainflex® cables from sparks, flames and metal shavings that can cause severe damage during the cutting process.

Students from Seneca College, engineering professionals and people from all walks of life came together to build the Xof1, a solar vehicle that will attempt to drive 14,500 miles to set a new world distance record and inspire others to be environmentally conscious. Chainflex® cables are used for the battery connections to create an “umbilical cord” for the car’s solar panel.

Twenty-five students from Algonquin Regional High School used iglide® plastic plain bearings, igubal® spherical bearings and DryLin® S aluminum shafting on their robot known as “SPAZ-BOT”.

Six students from Miami Dade College used Chainflex continuous-flex cables on their remotely operated vehicle (ROV) for a Marine Advanced Technology Education (MATE) Competition. The competition challenges students to build an ROV that completes tasks in dangerous waters while the operator mans the robot in a comfortable, safe environment.

A team from the Université de Sherbrooke in Québec, Canada, used iglide® Q bearings on a student-designed, student-built and student-operated off-road vehicle for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Baja Competition. The donated bearings were used at various pivot points in both the rear suspension and throttle and break controls of the vehicle.

Bojan Djokanovic, a graduate student at the University of Missouri-Rolla, used energy chain cable carriers and Chainflex® continuous-flex cables to facilitate sensorless position control on a linear induction motor drive. The project was part of a research initiative at the Emerson Energy Conversion Lab, which operates as part of UMR.

Students from the University of Rhode Island used iglide® plastic plain bearings and igubal® spherical bearings on their baja for the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Collegiate Design Series. The competition challenges students to design and build an off-road vehicle cable of surviving tough terrain.