VIDAR Smart Electric Motor

OVERVIEW

The VIDAR smart electric motor project began in May 2018 and achieved a major milestone with its successful commercial launch in March 2025. Now in early stages of deployment across various markets in the US, VIDAR represents a long-term collaboration between The Thinking Pod Innovations (TTPi), the University of Nottingham (UoN) and ITT’s VIDAR division. This partnership combined research, advanced engineering, and commercial expertise to tackle a global challenge: the inefficiency and environmental impact of the traditional industrial motor driven processes. 

Motivated by the need to reduce carbon emissions and energy waste in heavy industry, the project set out to develop an intelligent electric motor system that could be deployed without requiring costly infrastructure upgrades. The result is a compact, robust, fully integrated motor system featuring built in power conversion and advanced control. Unlike conventional setups reliant on bulky external variable frequency drives (VFDs), VIDAR smart electric motor offers easy installation even in harsh or space-limited environments, removing significant barriers to adopting variable speed motor technology.  

CLIENTS/PARTNERS

• The Thinking Pod Innovations (TTPi): Led high performance digital control design, systems engineering and project management with ISO 9001 quality standards. 
• University of Nottingham, Power Electronics & Machine Centre (PEMC): Provided advanced power electronics research & technical validation.
• ITT’s VIDAR Division: Led product design, industrial insight, field testing and facilitate access to global markets. 

OUR APPROACH

VIDAR’s architecture redefines motor design by embedding a high-efficiency power converter directly into the motor housing without compromising reliability or thermal management. This required a multidisciplinary strategy addressing electromagnetic design, thermal pathways, control systems, and mechanical integration. 

The approach incorporated a modular design optimized for space efficiency and improved cooling under heavy loads, enabling a motor system up to 60% smaller than conventional VFD-based configurations while exceeding performance.  

Iterative prototyping paired with real-world testing in sectors like food processing, water treatment, and pharmaceuticals drove continuous improvement, simplifying installation, refining firmware, and enhancing adaptive controls. Manufacturing and user experience considerations ensured the product is rugged, scalable, and cost-effective for field deployment. 

CAPABILITIES APPLIED

AC AC, Advanced Digital Control, Ultra-efficient power conversion,  Advanced Power converter Modulations and Firmware design, Integrated motor drive 

OUTCOME & IMPACT

VIDAR delivers a transformative motor solution that reduces system footprint by up to 60%, eliminates bulky external VFDs, and significantly lowers barriers to variable-speed motor adoption. Field tests demonstrated energy savings up to 52%, translating to substantial operational cost reductions and greenhouse gas emissions cuts.  

Installation is simplified reducing engineering time and downtime. The motor’s rugged design guarantees reliable operation in harsh industrial conditions. 

VIDAR smart motors are not only highly efficient and robust. They have been designed to be easy to control with simplified user interface and installation wizards for rapid deployment.  

Beyond technical success, VIDAR advanced workforce development, providing engineers with hands on experience bridging research & commercialisation. Following its launch, VIDAR is being widely used in a variety of industries, with rising consumer interest fuelled by demands for energy efficiency and sustainability goals. 

APPLICATIONS BEYOND THIS PROJECT

VIDAR’s technology is truly applicable across a wide range of sectors including industrial automation, food processing, water treatment, pharmaceuticals, and other heavy industries requiring variable-speed motor solutions. The compact and rugged design makes it suitable for deployment in space-constrained or harsh environments. 

Future applications include expanding into electric vehicle powertrains, smart factories, renewable energy integration, and aerospace, leveraging VIDAR’s modular, scalable, and energy optimised motor drive architecture.