Mustang Advanced Engineering (MAE), an American manufacturer of testing equipment, dynamometers and related products, has delivered a research and development test stand for Magna International, an automotive engineering and manufacturing company.
The dynamometer test stand is designed to be a training tool for automotive technical schools and for the research and development of future vehicles.
Magna has a partnership with Marco’s Pizza, an American pizza brand, to explore the autonomous delivery method in specific locations within North America. Therefore, the company approached MAE about creating a testing system for its recently developed autonomous three-wheeled delivery vehicle.
Traveling at speeds of up to 32km/h, the autonomous driving system uses cameras, radar, lidar and other hardware to navigate. The AV is an all-electric, lightweight robotic vehicle and according to Magna it will reduce last-mile delivery costs and carbon emissions in urban environments.
MAE designed and created the test stand according to Magna’s timeline and testing parameters. It is equipped with features such as permanent restraints, a turntable for measuring turning radius during dynamic testing, an adjustable wheelbase and an AC motor power absorber and flywheel for extra inertia.
Michael Caldwell, senior account manager at MAE, said, “Thanks to MAE’s history of providing sophisticated test stands in an extremely economical manner as well as our ability to create testing systems for autonomous vehicles, we were able to provide a great, simple testing solution for our customer.”
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