The Solar Impulse Website has great images and videos supporting the press release info below:
From Swiss watchmaker Omega:
The development of a performance simulation and testing system (system test bench) for
the Solar Impulse project led by Bertrand Piccard and André Borschberg, whose
objective is to develop and build an exclusively solar-powered airplane and to fly it
day and night by 2009, and around the world by the end of 2011. Known for its
precision-technology watches, the development of innovative timekeeping equipment
and its historic role as Official Timekeeper of the Olympic Games, Omega has been
deeply involved together with the Group Team in the development of the airplane’s
engine and of the system test bench used to test various components of the Solar
Impulse airplane. A member of Swatch Group, the world’s largest watchmaking Group
and a leading provider of advanced technologies to a variety of industries, Omega
contributes its high-profile brand presence, communication support and essential
technologies developed by Swatch Group specialists in the areas of automation and
the development of test equipment to the Solar Impulse project.
Solar Impulse Test Bench
The system test bench is an electromechanical system designed to enable the Solar
Impulse development team to simulate and test the performance of the airplane’s
electrical systems at the conceptual stage, i.e. before production of the respective
components begins. In developing this bench, the OMEGA team made use of previous
experience in Swatch automation and testing of hybrid cars. The team will test the
airplane’s electrical propulsion systems, including the batteries, the electric motors
and the connections to the propellers. In particular, as full-sized solar panels for the
airplane are not yet available for testing, the system test bench will allow the Solar
Impulse team to simulate the performance of the solar panels destined to provide the
sole source of energy to the plane’s four electric motors. The tests will determine the
effective energy delivered by the solar cells to the motors. The team will also analyze
the performance of the motor under normal conditions and at temperatures ranging
from –40ºC to +55ºC; battery capacity; and the performance of the airplane’s
controls.
Hybrid Drive Propulsion Technology
Omega’s support is of critical importance to the Solar Impulse project, in particular
with respect to the airplane’s electrical propulsion system. Omega is providing the
technological expertise that enabled the development, initiated in the 1980s, of the
Swatchmobile hybrid propulsion system, along with the services of one of the experts
who oversaw development of the innovative automobile’s hybrid-drive engine. The
Swatchmobile was conceived - far ahead of its time - as a hybrid vehicle that
combined a thermal motor with four electric motors powered by a rechargeable
battery. The numerous technological challenges facing the Swatchmobile development
engineers to conceive and implement totally innovative solutions in terms of
propulsion electronics, electric motors, battery management and security. It is this
invaluable expertise and exceptional experience that Omega has made available to
the Solar Impulse development team.
One of the main supporters of this project is Bertrand Piccard.
