Engineering faculty at the University of Windsor and Coventry University are working together to develop software that will help students around the world learn about vehicle dynamics.

UWindsor professor Bruce Minaker of the Vehicle Dynamics and Control Research Group has been developing the open source software package, called “Equations of Motion,” which will aid in teaching mechanical and automotive engineering students.

A six-week visit by Mike Blundell, professor of vehicle dynamics and impact at Coventry University, is currently advancing the project, especially its capabilities in tire modelling. Dr. Blundell is also delivering guest lectures on tire performance to University of Windsor students, while raising awareness of opportunities for exchange visits or research study at Coventry.

“This is an important aspect of the visit,” Dr. Minaker says. “We both hope this visit will provide a platform for ongoing two-way exchange visits for staff and students between our two institutions.”

Blundell says he has been delighted at the chance to work with colleagues here and is proud of his appointment as a visiting professor.

“This has proved to be a unique career experience for me and provides an opportunity to build a strong collaboration between our two institutions around the vehicle dynamics subject area,” he says. “The EoM software that Bruce has developed is already being used by our students at Coventry University and working in an open source software environment will help our students and future researchers develop the skills they need as we drive our research agenda.”

He presented the first paper resulting from the collaboration in June at the Joint International Conference on Multibody System Dynamics in Montreal.