TECHNICAL COMPUTING CAMP 2020

This year, the Technical Computing Camp moved to the opposite bank of the Brno Dam, to the Rakovec Hotel, where we found suitable facilities for the growing number of participants. The direct view of the water surface and the great weather added to our otherwise working meeting of users and fans of technical computing and simulations a summer relaxed atmosphere, which we try to evoke with the word „Camp“ in the name of the event.

Watch a short video from TCC 2020 >>

Unfortunately, the programme and the course of the meeting were partly affected by the current situation in relation to measures against the spread of the coronavirus. This year we had to do without the participation of colleagues from the MathWorks company, we had to wear respiratory protective equipment in the indoor areas. The advantage of the Rakovec hotel is the huge terrace, on which a great meal was served and where most of the discussions took place. Compliance with the measures currently in force did not bother us significantly. This year's attendance was record-breaking – almost 140 people attended the event, which only confirms our conviction that personal meetings still make sense even in today's times, wishing especially online communication.

The MATLAB / Simulink platform was again attended by colleagues Jaroslav Jirkovský and Michal Blaho, who introduced us to the current news for 2020. While Jaroslav Jirkovský devoted himself to the use of MATLAB in the application areas of Deep Learning, Machine Learning and Predictive Maintenance, Michal Blaho showed us the tools for the development of robotic systems and touched on autonomous control.

The EDU corner, dedicated to the current MATLAB licensing options, was in charge of colleague Martina Mudrová, who introduced licensing options ranging from cheap home use to university-wide large licences. The MATLAB platform is increasingly used not only in universities and colleges, but also in secondary schools for which there is a school teaching licence PASS. All school multi-licences can also be used on private computers and from home, together with available online courses allow schools effective distance learning.

Jiří Nárožný introduced the Grader service for MATLAB. It is a web service and teaching tool designed for instructors and students. It is used for creating, sharing and solving interactive tests based on the MATLAB environment. The service includes automatic evaluation of results or obtaining statistics about the solution of the task. Instructors also have a library of sample courses and tests available within the service.

Martin Kožíšek described modern trends in FEM calculations using the COMSOL Multiphysics system. Multiphysical simulations Martin demonstrated an interesting case of optical illusions using a hologram (Pepper's ghost effect), created in the Ray Optics Module of COMSOL Multiphysics.

Jana Trojáková (formerly Sarana) introduced the use of dSPACE systems beyond the automotive field, with which most people associate them. For this year's meeting we brought the most complete series of simulators – modular systems Scalexio OTS, Scalexio LabBox, AutoBox and compact system MicroLabBox, which participants could try out during the whole event.

At this year's meeting, the following users shared their experience using our tools:

- Messrs. Blažej Kubizna and Samuel Kecík from Schaeffler presented the breadth of their company's research projects and the thermal model of a hybrid gearbox for passenger cars.

- Mr. Martin Šiler from the Institute of Instrument Technology of the CAS described another aspect in the development of miniature endoscopes using advanced processing of image information transmitted by multimode optic fibers this year. MATLAB was used to debug the library for the calculation of the transmission matrix of the optical transmission channel written in the C language.

- Messrs. Filip Rak and Ondřej Procházka from Zuri.com introduced the revolutionary concept of an aeroplane with a perpendicular takeoff and landing. The aeroplane will have a fixed wing and will combine the use of electric motors (for takeoff) and internal combustion engine (for standard flight mode). MATLAB was used to process data from flight tests of the model and to identify parameters of the dynamic model, then it will be used to simulate flight characteristics of a real aeroplane.

- Mr. Robert Grepl from Mechsoft informed about devices and models used for mechatronics teaching at Brno University of Technology and introduced participants to several projects where his workplace successfully used the USB bus to connect components of simulation and control systems working in real time. He showed that while respecting the limitations of the technology used, the USB bus can also be used for professional real-time applications.

We have set aside a special section for COMSOL Multiphysics this year, where colleagues Martin Kožíšek and Matouš Lorenc introduced new modules Metal Processing Module and Porous Media Flow Module and prepared two mini-courses where participants could try out the settings of the electronics part cooling simulation and get acquainted with the Reduced Order Modeling technique. For all participants, Martin Kožíšek prepared a workshop „My First FEM Simulation“.

Thursday's part of the official programme ended with Jan Studnička with Tips and Tricks for MATLAB, this time on the topic of working with graphs.

The fine weather of late summer allowed us to spend a pleasant evening on the terrace of a local restaurant.

On Friday morning we started with the traditional warm-up quiz and then followed the main part of Friday's program – a competition for the best user project. A total of 4 entries competed for the participants' interest, after a short presentation of their work, the contestants had about an hour to demonstrate their projects at their tables.

The results of the competition were announced by a jury led by prof. Petr Dostál from VUT. This year, a team from the University of West Bohemia led by Ondřej Sodomka with a model of magnetoreological elastomer behavior won. The list of projects, their description and the complete results of the competition can be found here.

In parallel with the competition, Humusoft application engineers prepared a non-competitive tour of their own projects, their description can be found here.

We would like to invite you who work with our tools to participate in next year's contest! The contest is open to all users of MATLAB, COMSOL Multiphysics or dSPACE systems, whether they use them in the corporate sphere, in the studio or at home.

At the end of the camp, after lunch, we again included the Creative Workshop, where you could sit down at the computers and try out solutions for several prepared tasks. There was also time for further discussions and consultations with our colleagues.

We thank the speakers, contestants and all other participants for their contribution to the successful course of the event and we look forward to further such pleasant meetings with you!

Please enter the date of next year's Technical Computing Camp in your calendars: September 9–10, 2021!