DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A - Approved for public release – UNCLASSIFIED 2017 NDIA GROUND VEHICLE SYSTEMS ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY SYMPOSIUM POWER & MOBILITY (P&M ) TECHNICAL SESSION AUGUST 8-10, 2017 - NOVI, MICHIGAN KER -TRAIN HIGH EFFICIENCY DRIVE -BY-WIRE TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS Mike Brown Brent Marquardt Ker-Train Research Inc. Kingston, Ontario Disclaimer: Reference here in to any specific commercial company, product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or the Department of the Army (DoA). The opinions of the authors expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the DoA, and shall not be used for advertising or pr oduct endorsement purposes. ABSTRACT Ker-Train Research Inc. has designed and manufactured a 32 -speed tracked - vehicle transmission and an 8-speed efficient power take -off fan drive that have been shown through testing to not only increase vehicle performa nce and overall system efficiency, but also have the ability to be controlled fully drive -by-wire making them excellent ca ndidates for integration into autonomous vehicle s. INTRODUCTION Ker-Train Research Inc. (KTR) is a company founded on unique drive train technologies and non -conventional design approaches. Unrivaled packaging is achieved in KTR’s transmissions using patented high power density addendum contact coplanar gearing, high efficiency PolyCone clutches, compact one -to-one torque couplings, and fully geared steering differentials. In recent years, KTR has succeeded in developing transmission systems with the aforementioned patented technol ogy that meet the ongoing demand of autonomous functionality. The Gemini III and the Efficient Power Take -Off (EPTO) fan drive are two such transmission systems that can be controlled fully by drive -by-wire and therefore, easily integrated into a complete ly autonomous vehicle . The Gemini III is a 32 -speed 900hp binary logic transmission that is currently being considered as a replacement solution for transmissions in existing 40 -50 ton tracked vehicle platforms. With a calculated efficiency of greater than 90%, the Gemini III will increase vehicle performance by providing more power to the sprockets while bettering fuel economy at the same time, thus improving vehicle range and tactical and logistical abilities. KTR has designed a nd manufactured two first generation “Alpha” units for the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) that are currently awaiting dyno testing at the TARDEC facility. KTR is also in the process of designing, manufactur ing and testing a second generation “Beta” unit with the main focus being long -term durability, efficiency optimization of subsystems, weight reductions, design to cost (DTC) studies, vehicle control software and hardware developments and the transmission’ s adaptability into a fully drive -by-wire system. The Efficient Power Take -Off (EPTO) fan drive is an extremely compact 8 -speed 150hp binary logic transmission that was designed as a drop -in replacement for the existing baseline production PTO fan drive in the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV) which currently uses a hydraulic fluid coupling to drive the fan. The EPTO 8 - speed fan drive has progressed through multiple phases of development over a five year period and in total, 13 Proceeding s of the 2017 Ground Vehicle Systems Engineering and Technology Symposium (GVSETS) DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A - Approved for public release – UNCLASSIFIED Page 2 of 7 prototype units have been manufactured ( 4 different variants) and tested at the component and vehicle level with the latest variant having successfully completed a 400 hour durability test as well as ot