Axon Motion: The next generation of racing simulation
Based on research from KTH, Henrik Hvitfeldt and Andreas Fröderberg have built a driving simulator with the potential to challenge the leading players in the industry. "We want every driver and racing team in Europe and the USA to have an Axon Motion simulator," says Andreas Fröderberg.
Andreas Fröderberg and Henrik Hvitfeldt both studied Mechanical Engineering at KTH. They have ten years of experience in motorsport and the automotive industry, and from that came the realization that drivers need to train more frequently and cost-effectively than what is currently possible.
Together, they built a prototype of a simulator in Mora, originally intended for motorsport activities. At the same time, Henrik, who is a doctoral student at KTH, had discovered that the university needed a simulator for research and education in vehicle dynamics.
"Unfortunately, our first prototype burned down, but luckily KTH had already had the chance to test-drive it and wanted to build a new version at the university based on our concept," says Henrik.
With support from KTH Innovation, they patented their system and soon after applied to KTH Innovation Launch to explore whether there was a market for their simulator. They named their commercialization project Axon Motion .
Interest from professional drivers
Today, the driving simulator stands ready in KTH’s vehicle technology lab, prepared for further research and education. Henrik and Andreas now aim to continue developing the simulator within their company — and it’s already proving to be in demand.
"We’ve already had professional drivers from both national and world championship racing series in the simulator," says Henrik. "We were able to give drivers high-volume training in different scenarios like wet-weather driving, slippery road handling, and more."
From racing to driving schools
One major advantage of Axon Motion’s system is that it doesn’t cause motion sickness — a common problem with most simulators on the market today. Much of the existing technology is based on older systems originally designed for flight simulators.
"Through Henrik’s research, we’ve been able to study how a car moves and develop both the simulator and software together so they mimic the movements of a car or truck in the best possible way," says Andreas.
Beyond motorsport, Henrik and Andreas also see applications for their simulator in the gaming industry and, eventually, in driving schools.
"Our simulator is adaptable and can bring a high-performance simulation experience to a new customer group that doesn’t currently have access to it," says Henrik. "Besides industrial partners, we’re now looking for potential customers who could benefit from the product."
Developed in KTH Innovation Launch
Eva Halén, business development coach at KTH Innovation, has supported the team throughout their time at KTH Innovation.
"Eva has helped us so much," says Henrik. "Andreas and I are, at our core, two engineers. Eva is incredibly good at getting us to raise our sights and think about questions like: ‘How are we going to commercialize this? Which people do we need to bring in? Who do we need around us to make this take off?'’"
Axon Motion is one of the teams in Batch 19 of KTH Innovation Launch, a program for ambitious teams aiming to bring their products to market. They’ve also traveled to Paris to test the international market in the KTH Innovation Brighter Program.
"Henrik and Andreas have an incredibly strong vision for what they want to achieve technically, and we at KTH Innovation can build on that and show them what opportunities exist out in the world," says Eva. "We’re a team of 20 people with a wide range of experiences that we can share at just the right time."
The ten-year plan
The next step for Henrik and Andreas is to reach out to their network of professional drivers, with the goal of selling their first simulators.
"In 10 years, we want to be a big company and the first choice for sim racing customers," says Henrik. "If you want to help us build the company, or are potentially interested in investing, get in touch!"
"Our goal is to put an Axon Motion simulator at every racing team in Europe and the USA," Andreas concludes.
See the simulator in action on KTH Innovation's Instagram!
Contact: andreas@axonmotion.com
Text: Lisa Bäckman