Battery Drain

It is hard to “serve and protect” when your police car won’t even start. According to the South Bend Police Department, the crime- fighting tools carried in squad cars, many of which are electronic devices, can drain a vehicle’s battery so much that it can’t start. And, it’s not just a local problem; police departments across the country are facing a similar challenge.

In addition to the normal electronic devices in a vehicle, police cars also carry a laptop computer, video camera, alarm system, a Global Positioning System, and at least one radio.Batteries that typically last for five years are dying within two, which is a safety issue
and drain on a department’s budget. But police cars are not the only vehicles affected. Recreational vehicles and many commercial vehicles (delivery and service trucks) face similar issues.

Not to worry. Students in the Department of Electrical Engineering may be close to a solution. As part of their senior capstone project, 2007
graduates Jason Kulick, Michael Gerardi, Martin Nguyen, and Peter VanLoon developed a device that could monitor and record information about the electrical currents in a vehicle ... as well as control them. According to Mike Schafer, the faculty member who teaches the senior design course, the students’ invention will automatically turn off devices in vehicle when the battery power gets low.

A prototype device was developed and presented to the police department and the City Safety Board in July. Although more testing will be conducted by another senior design team, it is possible that a commercially viable product could be available within a year, benefitting police departments across the country.

Editor’s note: Because of its potential commercial application, the design and related business concept for the students’ device recently won first place in the Four Horseman Engineering Entrepreneurship Program’s “Engineering Ideas Contest.” The students have also made it into the business plan round of the McCloskey Business Plan Competition, sponsored by the University’s Gigot Center for Entrepreneurial Studies. Winners will be announced in April 2008.

Top photo: In July 2007, Mike Schafer, middle, and students (not pictured above) presented a prototype of the Notre Dame battery monitor and control device to members of South Bend’s City Safety Board. Middle photos: The device was designed by undergraduates in the Department of Electrical Engineering as part of their senior capstone project. It monitors several electronic items in vehicles. Bottom photo: Jason Kulick gets ready to demonstrate how the prototype works in a police car.