Automatic and Systems Control

Smart factory

A reconfigurable production platform was opened at Centrale Nantes in November 2018.
This demonstrator is used for innovation and research. The platform also plays a role in terms of outreach because it illustrates the practical use of 4.0 technologies to players in the local ecosystem.
This manufacturing unit is implemented, connected and monitored in real time. It is equipped with a support system for the management of processes, functions for traceability and quality monitoring, where humans have an essential role.

With regards to research, this platform is an intermediary between a real factory and its digital models. It is an "in vivo" validation tool in which parameters and performance indicators can be monitored and controlled. This controlled environment allows theoretical results to be validated before being deployed in industry.
 

Electric vehicle test bench

Centrale Nantes has an electric vehicle test bench specifically for electric vehicles, Bemeve, for automotive electric propulsion.

The test bench is used by an LS2N research team, which specialises in the control of complex dynamic systems. The ultimate goal underpinning this control is to enable a complex system to achieve its objectives, despite the complexity of the system, despite disturbances and despite a context that may potentially curtail the system's capabilities.

It consists of test engines (specimens) supplied by Renault and a control, power electronics and dynamic load environment to simulate driving situations.

Following encouraging initial results, the device has now been approved by the firm. Researchers and PhD students are hard at work validating the position/torque observation algorithms and the teams are in the process of going through experimental validation. This is essential prior to integration into vehicles for the manufacturers who will received support on the protocol for adjusting parameters. This research work will enable us to move towards an increasingly reliable and intelligent vehicle for the driver.

Centrale Nantes has joined forces with the manufacturer Renault to set up a five-year chair, which aims to improve the performance of electric propulsion in motor vehicles. Centrale Nantes, with its laboratories, is a world leader in the field of sensorless control of synchronous and asynchronous machines and hybrid systems, with unique platforms in an academic context for each field.

Visit the test bench (in French)