Vero Technologies Offer Fast Service For Fast Cars

International rally car racing involves good preparation, exact timing, teamwork and, above all, high speed. A Spanish company which specialises in bespoke onboard sensing and data acquisition systems for moving vehicles was awarded a contract in December 2012 to develop the integration of the In-Car unit of the tracking system, which must be fitted to all participating cars for the 2013 World Rally Championship season. Time was of the essence as the first event was the Monte Carlo Rally at the end of January.

The company designed and manufactured the radio component integration, supports, consoles, looms and ancillary electronic power feed conditioning and battery back-up, which are housed in several different units to make up the complete system. Its main functions are to provide a tracking system to geo-position all the racing cars every 10 seconds, to provide stage split times, to provide a Yellow Flag warning to alert all drivers on the stage if there is a problem and to provide an SOS button in case of accident. It also provides movement alert and/or other position related alarms from internal sensors. The units are controlled from Race HQ and all the units can be programmed and set via GSM/GPRS and/or UHF radio link.

The units are attached to a carbon fibre support inside the cabin of the vehicle. The main unit is a GSM/GPRS/GPS multifunctional box, with several digital inputs, tri-axial accelerometers and movement sensors, a CAN interface and two serial interfaces. The unit has GPS and GSM antennas. A separate UHF/GPS box provides a secondary GPS signal plus a UHF uplink to a local repeater aircraft. The units both have internal power supply conditioning and a two-hour battery to ensure functionality after power off or in the event of an accident.

Time Trials

##IMAGE_3_R##Vero won the business to supply the enclosure as the result of a good stock position and a rapid turn round on the modified parts. Having designed the systems, the Spanish manufacturer was faced with having to deliver in very short lead times at a time when they were particularly busy. Just before Christmas 2012 they conducted an online search for a suitable enclosure and found them on the Vero web site. The standard products were in stock and an online order was placed on 18th December for an initial 70 standard cases and IP65 gaskets. In the ensuing correspondence, Vero were asked to supply 160 sets of five different modified and engraved end panels. Contractor drawings were received on the 19th December and converted into the manufacturing drawings on the same day. The first 90 sets were manufactured on the 20th December and shipped on the 21st. During the production of one of the panels errors in the supplied drawings against the specification were noticed. After analysing the problem, Vero opened intensive communications by phone and email with a suggested modification; the change was accepted and the shipment made on the 4th of January. A combination of good stock availability, rapid progress through production control, right-first-time quality, good communications and quick shipping at a difficult time of year enabled Vero to supply the housings needed to fulfil their customer commitment. Vero’s design and production people worked flat out to ensure that the order was fulfilled on time, on budget and, above all, the enclosures were exactly as required for the job.

Many projects face challenging timescales and demanding technical requirements for the enclosures. Good standard product stock availability, a fast response and good communications from Vero Technologies enables customers to meet their commitments cost-effectively and on time.