Ergonomic Steering Wheel

Due to the high steering weight of FSAE steering systems and the small diameter steering wheel diameter, drivers often experience fatigue during testing and endurance. This fatigue was exemplified in EV3 by the fact that the grips were shaped like a square and the geometry of the wheel required the drivers thumbs to to grip against the outside of the wheel. This fatigue is highly detrimental to the performance of the driver, and loses us points in our driver interface design presentation. 

Solution

In order to minimize the fatigue on the driver, I started by maximizing the radius of the wheel within the available envelope. Unfortunately due to the height of our tallest driver, we weren't able to expand said radius at all. From there we designed a wheel frame that allowed the drivers thumbs to comfortably grip the outside of the wheel. The process for generating a comfortable design was a very iterative process that involved a lot of 3d printed prototypes. Every iteration got printed and tested by our main drivers. Using their feedback we were able to develop a final product with a carbon frame and tpu grips. We saved 30% mass with the new design as well. 

What I should have done differently

1. I should have considered angling the steering wheel further forward. This would have allowed us to make the steering wheel bigger while maintaining leg room for the driver.

2. Used thinner carbon or aluminum. The carbon we got was free which is why we used it, but if I were to make this again, carbon was not worth it due to the difficulty of manufacturing.