UCR Highlander Racing

Highlander Racing is the FSAE team of the University of California, Riverside. As an FSAE team, students design, fabricate, and compete with an electric vehicle completely. Our team consists of 200+ students with 14 different subteams to join such as chassis, EE, CS, etc. The team is completely open to all UCR students regardless of experience or major but requires dedication to develop engineering skills. Our mission has always been to offer students professional development opportunities, not only by designing a car but also through guest speaker panels with industry experts, tours, and professional development workshops. 

Our goal this year will be the launch of our car following the two-year development cycle. Our Electrical Engineering team has worked rigorously to create the most crucial part of our vehicle. The Electrical Subsystem handles board design and works closely with the Accumulator team to ensure all rules and requirements are met. Here is where, schematic design, PCB Design, and PCBA is handled. Some of our boards deal with high voltage while others with low voltage. Overall, they handle how and where the energy goes, that being, to other boards and sections of the car. They then assemble and test boards, making any revisions necessary. Without essential working boards, our EV car would not run. 

FSAE, or the Formula Society of Automotive Engineers, is an organization with over 128,000 members worldwide. It’s an internationally recognized program that brings together engineers from universities across the globe, challenging them to push the boundaries of their knowledge and skills.

As a chapter of FSAE, our team is responsible for conceiving, designing, fabricating, developing, and competing with our formula-style vehicle. This hands-on process covers everything from an initial concept to a fully functional vehicle, and for many teams, this includes an internal combustion design, electric vehicle design, and autonomous. Our team focuses specifically on the electric vehicle and autonomous side.

Finally, we compete against teams from all over the world. This international competition challenges us not only to perform our best but also to benchmark ourselves against some of the most talented engineering students globally. It’s a rigorous, real-world experience that pushes us to improve and innovate constantly.

As we prepare for the upcoming season we have been designing and improving our PCBs for the electrical system of the vehicle, all of which are required by the competition to uphold safety and functionality. Due to the innate high expenses this competition has, a sponsorship from PCBWay would be extremely beneficial. With the assistance of this sponsorship, we can better allocate our budget towards other aspects of the vehicle to improve the overall hands-on learning experience for students. This sponsorship would help us have an efficient and reliable electrical system that would help us learn and gather performance diagnostics for future projects.

Our Boards:

A VCU (Vehicle Control Unit) in a FSAE car is the central electronic system responsible for managing and coordinating the vehicle's subsystems, such as the powertrain, sensors, and actuators. It processes inputs from various sensors, implements control algorithms, and ensures optimal performance, safety, and efficiency during the competition events.

A discharge circuit in an FSAE car prevents capacitors in the inverter from remaining charged after the battery has been isolated, ensuring safety during maintenance or when the car is powered off. It dissipates the stored energy in the inverter’s capacitors, preventing potential electrical hazards and accidental activation.

A precharge circuit in an FSAE car gradually charges the capacitors in the inverter and other high-voltage components before connecting the main battery, preventing a sudden inrush of current that could damage the system. It ensures a smooth voltage ramp-up, protecting sensitive electronics and enhancing the reliability of the vehicle’s electrical system.

A shutdown circuit in an FSAE car is designed to quickly isolate and disconnect the high-voltage system in the event of an emergency or when the car is powered off. It ensures the safety of the vehicle by cutting power to critical components, such as the motor and inverter, to prevent electrical hazards and minimize risks during a crash or other critical situations.

A Brake System Plausibility Device (BSPD) in an FSAE car ensures the integrity and functionality of the braking system by continuously monitoring and verifying the signals from the brake components. It detects discrepancies, such as incorrect sensor readings or system malfunctions, and triggers an alert or disconnects the brake system if it detects any faults, enhancing safety during operation.

A Fuseboard circuit for the subpacks (battery packs) protects each subpack's individual cells and modules by using fuses that disconnect the circuit in the event of an overcurrent or short circuit. This ensures that if one subpack experiences a failure, the fuse will isolate it, preventing further damage to the battery system and enhancing the overall safety and reliability of the car’s electrical system.