Mechanical Engineering students show their commitment through various TU/e associations. You can also be an active member of one of these teams and even do your graduation project or internship there.
ATeam
The Automotive Technology team (ATeam) is preparing for the Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge (GCDC) being organized by TNO in May 2011 and during which thirty vehicles of (inter)national teams will drive one after the other on the A270 between Helmond and Eindhoven. Cooperative driving means wireless network communication between vehicles and between vehicles and infrastructure. The driver just has to steer. The GCDC is intended to promote cooperative driving to make traffic safer and improve traffic flow. The ATeam comprises fifteen people: students, PhD students, technicians and staff. They are using a DAF truck during the Challenge. The team is examining aspects like logistics, control engineering, embedded systems, electrical engineering and human-machine interaction. They are testing the truck on their own rollerbench in the automotive lab of the Mechanical Engineering department.
Team EINDroid
It's an ambitious plan: in 2050 a team of autonomous ‘humanoid' robots must be capable of beating the soccer world champions. Team Eindroid is taking on this challenge following on from the successful TURTLES of Tech United. Team EINDroid is the TU/e's humanoid robot team. The 1.20 meter long TUlip robot used for this will be able to look after old people in forty years, helping to do household chores. The team is working hard on the software and mechanics to enable a robot to learn to walk, communicate and think. Some twenty students and PhD students from Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Electrical Engineering are working on the TUlip.
Tech United
Tech United takes part in two RoboCup leagues. The mid-size robot soccer team is best known. It plays in the mid-size league, the top league of the Robocup competition. In the mid-size class a team of five autonomous robots plays together on the pitch. In April 2010 Tech United won the unofficial European Championships and in June 2010 came second in the World Championships. Quite a job to get a winning team. All separate design components have to be integrated into one Tech United robot soccer team that plays together. Just think about the mechatronics, power management, navigation, software architecture and datacommunication. This knowledge comes into the team through a large group of PhD students, scientific and engineering staff, many fro Mechanical Engineering.
@Home league
Since 2011 United Tech makes also competes in the @Home league with service robot AMIGO. This league aims to develop service and assistive robot technology with high relevance for future personal domestic applications. A set of benchmark tests is used to evaluate the robots’ abilities and performance in a realistic non-standardized home environment setting.
University Racing Eindhoven (URE)
This team takes part each year in the Formula Student Competition, an international competition for universities and polytechnics involving around 450 teams and involving every aspect of automotive engineering. In 2010 the electric class was launched: Formula Student Electric. URE is taking part with the first electric Formula Student race car from the Benelux. URE is participating in three races at such famous circuits as Hockenheim and Silverstone. Each year the team has around sixty students, many from Mechanical Engineering who work on the race car in their spare time. The design and performance of the car are measured during the races. The student team designs, builds, tests and improves the race car by themselves under the supervision of TU/e professors and lecturers. The car has to comply with strict requirements. The team designs almost all the components itself.
W.S.V. Simon Stevin
W.S.V. Simon Stevin is the study association for the bachelor- and master students of the department of Mechanical Engineering. The association is run entirely by students. Simon Stevin is the perfect addition to your studies at the TU/e, since we organize activities based on the principles education, development and relaxation. The association is involved in the organization of the introduction period, supplies studybooks and organizes practical courses like welding and milling. In order to give students an idea of the widespread application of their studies, Simon Stevin organizes excursions to technical companies, symposia, lectures and studytours. A study association is the place to meet your fellow students and so there is plenty opportunity for relaxation; Each Thursday it’s drinks in our own bar in the basement of the building and several parties are organized each year. Moreover, Simon Stevin has a fleet of land yachts (picture) which are used several weekends per year to sail on the Dutch and Belgian coast.
