New plug-and-play software simplifies engineering design
University of Central Florida College of Engineering and Computer Science
video:
A brief demo of the CRAFTS software created by Tuhin Das.
view moreCredit: Tuhin Das/UCF College of Engineering and Computer Science
Engineering design and simulation is about to become a much simpler and faster process with the aid of a new software library developed by UCF researchers.
CRAFTS, which stands for Control-oriented, Reconfigurable and Acausal Flexible Technologies Simulator, was created by Tuhin Das, a professor of mechanical engineering, and members of his Hybrid Sustainable Energy Systems (HYSES) research lab.
Just as Canva and Wix made graphic design and web design easier through plug-and-play platforms, CRAFTS uses a similar customizable library of templates with a drag-and-drop interface that allows users to design, build and test the products of their imagination.
The project was supported by a $3.3 million grant from the Advanced Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).
The original goal of the project was to build software that could simulate the effects of external phenomena on wind turbines. But the researchers realized the scope of the software could be expanded to other areas.
“While we started off with the wind turbine, we realized that the type of modeling philosophy that we had used can be extended to modeling of power plants, energy grids or data centers,” Das says. “For a car, for example, you could grab a steering wheel model from your library and place it in your workspace. Similarly, you could grab models of a tire, an engine and a transmission from your model library and place them in your workspace, then connect them graphically and run your simulations.”
Although similar software exists, it doesn’t offer the level of ease and customization that CRAFTS does. The current industry standard software, OpenFAST, was developed decades ago by the National Renewable Energy Lab, which collaborated with Das and his team on CRAFTS. While OpenFAST offers highly accurate simulations, CRAFTS is more user friendly due to its modularity and plug-and-play features.
“The customization and the user friendliness are the key points that we emphasize,” says Samuel Pabon, a mechanical engineering graduate student who works In HYSES. “And that comes down to a few different things, like our ability to edit the block diagram in addition to editing the direct code. So, a user doesn’t necessarily have to know how to write the code in order to build a model.”
For users who aren’t experienced with the platform, CRAFTS offers a library of templates as well as examples of what models can look like for reference. The software also provides innovative tools such as a bulk simulator and regression testing that allow users to analyze the results of their simulations.
Das is currently working with the UCF Office of Technology Transfer to license and commercialize the software and is working with companies and institutions who are interested in implementing the software on a case-by-case basis.
Companies that are interested in using CRAFTS can visit the website to learn more or reach out directly to Das at tuhin.das@ucf.edu.
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