Community Collaboration Courses

Ono Sokki has established a collaborative research program with the Graduate School of Frontier Sciences, the University of Tokyo, on vibration measurement and control for electric vehicles, aiming to realize a clean and comfortable electric vehicle society. This time, we spoke with Professor Hiroshi Fujimoto and Project Lecturer Eiju Nagai, who are in charge of the program, as well as an employee from our company participating as a student, about their research and the role of the program.

Oda: My initial reason for joining Ono Sokki was that it was a company that dealt with sound and vibration measuring instruments, which I had researched at university. However, during my training after joining the company, I discovered the joy of being involved in automotive testing.
Also, since our company has many opportunities to be involved with the automotive industry, I wanted to acquire knowledge about automobiles from the beginning of my career, so I took on the role of electrical design for test equipment mainly focused on the drivetrain. I saw the announcement for this collaborative training course on the company bulletin board, became interested, and decided to apply because I wanted to take on the challenge.

Oda: We are conducting research to design and evaluate a vibration suppression controller for PHEVs equipped with e-Axle, utilizing Ono Sokki 's testing equipment which uses a low-inertia dynamometer. If this controller can be realized, it will contribute to improving the "ride comfort" of electric vehicles, including EVs.

Fujimoto: As the automotive industry moves towards electrification, the focus of research is shifting from internal combustion engines to electric motors. Consequently, the frequency range targeted in vibration control research and development is also shifting to higher ranges, and it has become clear that conventional models are no longer sufficient in Model-Based Dynamics (MBD). This necessitates modeling in the high-frequency range, and accurate measurement of frequency characteristics using low-inertia dynamometers is crucial for this modeling.
This research aims to establish a new methodology that can address these challenges associated with electrification. As motors become the primary power source in the future, I believe this new vibration suppression control method will become increasingly important and attract more attention, so I have high expectations for it.

Nagai: This research is a joint project between us and a domestic automobile manufacturer, and the initial impetus came when that automobile manufacturer consulted us about methods for suppressing vehicle vibrations.

Fujimoto: Academically speaking, there are passive and active methods for vibration suppression, but we believe that the active method we are researching can maximize the performance of the motor. However, while the automotive industry is putting a lot of effort into motor research, active methods are not yet very common. Ideally, the active vibration suppression control should be tailored to the characteristics of the vehicle, but in the automotive industry, the manufacturers that design the vehicles and the manufacturers that design the motors are separate, so it is difficult to realize this. It was at this time that we were consulted by an automotive manufacturer, and the idea for this collaborative research project with Ono Ono Sokki came up around the same time, so we thought, "If that's the case, we can definitely do it," and embarked on this research.

Fujimoto: In controller design, it's necessary to repeatedly evaluate design values through simulations rather than simply proceeding with the design. This involves actually measuring prototypes and revising the design values based on the results. We were able to use Ono Sokki 's equipment and devices during this measurement phase.

Nagai: Furthermore, there were aspects we couldn't determine on our own, such as whether our interpretation of the analysis results was correct, so we received advice from Ono Sokki employees on those points, which was extremely helpful.

Community Collaboration Courses

Exploring new technologies through industry-academia collaboration

Towards establishing new methods that contribute to electrification

First, I'd like to ask Mr. Oda: What is your role in participating in this course?

What kind of work were you doing at our company before you went abroad to study?

How long have you been participating?

What kind of research are you doing?

Research that could only be undertaken through industry-academia collaboration

What prompted you to start this research?

So, our company is contributing to research that will support the future of automobiles, right?

We are pleased to be able to contribute to this new technological research. As was briefly mentioned earlier, our company's equipment is also being used in this research, correct?

It seems our employees and products are playing an active role in many areas.

Will they be spreading the success stories of this course going forward?

This course is scheduled to continue until March 31, 2029. We will continue to aim to create new innovations through collaboration between industry and academia.