SparxSystems Europe: Enterprise Architect in the Hyperloop

The TUM Hyperloop program at the Technical University of Munich relies on modelling with Enterprise Architect for the development of a high-speed vacuum system.

Vienna/Munich – Julian Demicoli, M.Sc., heads the electronics department of the Technical University of Munich (TUM) Hyperloop Team: “There are currently around 100 students in the TUM Hyperloop Team working on the construction of a 24-meter full-scale Hyperloop demonstrator. We mainly use Enterprise Architect to create diagrams and document our sub-project.” It all started with a SpaceX competition to develop a high-speed vacuum system for vehicles. Several teams from all over the world took part, but TUM won the competition four times in a row. “We received a lot of attention in the media and in politics. In the fourth and final competition in 2020, we set a new world record with a speed of 482 km/h on wheels,” says Demicoli proudly. In the meantime, the project is being funded publicly and by companies and is in the process of building a full-scale test track for the magnetic levitation train system.

Peter Lieber, Founder and Managing Director of SparxSystems Europe

Professional modelling tool urgently needed

Due to the complexity of the overall system, the TUM Hyperloop team consists of various sub-teams that deal with the mechanics, the concrete tube and the electronics, for example. Demicoli’s team is working on a microcontroller for the magnetic levitation control. “In our sub-team, we are concentrating on the infrastructure for the levitation system, the converter and communication with the outside world. Our hover train is comparable to the Transrapid system, only it travels in a vacuum concrete tube. At the same time, however, it must also be able to communicate with the outside world, which of course poses major challenges,” explains Julian Demicoli.

In their project, the team initially used a non-commercial product to create the UML diagrams for the documentation.
“However, as we all want to work with professional tools that we will also find in practice after our studies, I did some research and very soon came across the widely used Enterprise Architect. We quickly realized that creating diagrams in Enterprise Architect is very intuitive and that the various diagram types are also well explained,” explains Demicoli.

The expectations of the tool were initially very high and were intended to cover the entire documentation right through to code generation. Although this is possible in principle, it requires a lot of experience in dealing with the methods, processes and Enterprise Architect used.

The TUM Hyperloop test segment is the first European test field of its kind and is specifically designed to research the feasibility of passenger transportation. (Source: TUM Hyperloop) 

Further exchange of information about Enterprise Architect is welcome

As old and proven components (PLC system, microcontroller with C++ programming) are used in the magnetic levitation control system, there were also clear limitations here.

‘So we familiarised ourselves with Enterprise Architect step by step, first creating an overview model and then going into more and more detail. The resulting system documentation was also crucial for us, as we often work with different people in the team.’

Compared to the competitor projects, the real project is also much more complex and the modelling helps to maintain an overview at all times.

Enterprise Architect was used in the project for over eight months and all diagrams were ultimately finalised. In the meantime, however, the team has become so familiar with the system that they would like to learn more about Enterprise Architect and its other areas of application for the Hyperloop programme. An exchange of experiences with SparxSytems CE has therefore now begun, the outcome of which is still open.