Tektronix helps racing team to ‘Go Electric’

OBR is the award-winning Formula Student team from Oxford Brookes University. OBR has competed in Formula Student since its inception in 1999; each year the team compete with the goal of designing, manufacturing and racing, a single-seater race car, in engineering design competitions held across the world. 

The team consists of 70 students, who, in their shift from combustion to
electric, are creating an exciting testbed of innovation for electric vehicles and controls software. The move to electric and the partnership with Tektronix begun during the 2019/2020 season.

OBR has been using a selection of Tektronix equipment for advanced inverter and high voltage system development:

• MSO3024 Mixed Domain Oscilloscope, 200 MHz, 2.5GS/S
• RSA306B compact and portable Spectrum Analyser
•
AFG1022 Arbitrary Function Generator, 25MHz, 125 MS/s, 14-bit
• Keithley DMM7510: 7½-Digit Graphical Sampling Multimeter
• 2230G High Power, 3Channel Programmable Power Supply

This equipment has given the team the ability rapidly to test and validate prototyped electrical system concepts. Additionally, this partnership opens up further battery electric vehicle research within the motorsports field.

“We are very excited at the opportunity
to support OBR[‘s] electronic engineering practice at Oxford Brookes University, with Tektronix and Keithley equipment, in an effort to ‘Go Green’”, said Maria Heriz, Vice President, EMEA Commercial Operations at Tektronix. 

“Vehicle electrification will continue to increase and accelerate in the decade to come. The connected car, new powertrains, regulations and advances in power electronic technology are coming together to create
a new blueprint for automobiles."

“The Tektronix equipment has given students the ability to develop the skills and knowledge needed to design and build an award-winning Formula Student vehicle. 

“Additionally, this partnership has furthered the university’s battery electric vehicle (BEV) research by aligning researchers and students with a common interest. We are very [excited] to be working with Tektronix and look forward to future success", said Brady Planden, Associate Lecturer at Oxford Brookes University.