Time is money. For startups, this sentiment is undoubtedly a key driving factor. There is an inherent race to develop a prototype, finish iterations, and deliver a market-ready product. Revolt, a Texas-based startup, has designed its development process with this urgency in mind. Equipped with experience and technical expertise, the team built a full-scale hybrid electric semi-truck in less than a year.

The Beginning of Revolt

The founding of Revolt might be considered unique when compared to other startups. Revolt has had a partner in one of the national trucking carriers from the beginning. The carrier believed in the concept of hybrid drivetrains but was not actively developing the technology itself. When a batch of assets became available, it was the open door the founding team was ready for. Gus Gardner, President and CEO of Revolt, says, “It was an opportunity to try out a new technology without raising a billion dollars. We are able to bootstrap it, do things in a different way, and make use of what we have; the American spirit approach.”

A Bridge to Heavy Trucking Electrification

Revolt is a solution for the heavy trucking market. Heavy trucking is expensive, not only to the operators but also to society, accounting for 26% of transportation emissions. Discussions around how to build more sustainable practices have led to companies jumping to create hydrogen-fueled or fully electric trucks. Revolt is taking a different approach. Chandra Patil, CTO of Revolt, explains, “Our motivation is building a bridge between today’s technology and the future, addressing the space in between diesel and hydrogen or electric. With hybrid vehicles, the adoption of electric vehicles becomes easier as we can address some of the concerns, such as fuel efficiency, and build a path to the future.”

Revolt is building a new series hybrid electric drivetrain for Class 8 semi-trucks. The drivetrain employs a diesel power generator to charge electric batteries. This combination allows the driver to maintain the driving experience they are used to – increased horsepower, torque, and higher towing capacities. Simultaneously, readily available diesel fuel minimizes potential drawbacks of reduced payload capacity and range anxiety that one might encounter with pure electric vehicles.

A diagram shows components of Revolt’s hybrid semi-truck. (Image courtesy of Revolt)

The drivetrain reduces fuel consumption by 40%, leading to substantial operator savings. Beyond the minimized direct emissions, Revolt also focuses on the impacts on the entire supply chain, emissions, and costs. The truck employs just two 110 kWh battery packs, compared to some in the electric trucking space with 10+ packs, aiming to reduce the full net impact on society.

While some startups aspire to overhaul existing technology, Revolt is not trying to build a new truck from the ground up. Their mission is to build a better truck and a better driving experience within the existing infrastructure that has been built. As Gardner describes, “[our technology] is everything that isn’t the cabin and frame rails of a truck; there are companies that make cabs, they’re great at it, let them do it right.” This mindset has allowed them to concentrate intentionally on the drivetrain within the established framework of semi-trucks and empowered a rapid development cycle.

Simulation is Key to Rapid Development

Gardner and Patil wanted to develop a truck at record speed, going against their traditional industry background. Patil illustrates how development at a startup differs from his experience at large corporations, “There is no quick turnaround from requirements [to change], there needs to be a process, and that can slow down the system. In our startup, we can adapt based on the data we collect and quickly change how we do things to effectively remove any inefficiencies or faults in the system.”

For Patil, shaping the development process at Revolt has been a time to push the limits of progressive innovation. Patil mapped out three primary phases for development, laying the foundation for success: 1. Building a simulation model, 2. Creating a prototype, and 3. Reiterating and fine-tuning the prototype to reach a production-intent vehicle.

Simulation is often a critical first step for development, especially for a startup with a very limited budget and resources. Patil explains this importance, “Most of the time, people want to see a truck on the road without understanding what this vehicle is supposed to do. While the function is achievable, it is not scalable, meaning you may end up with a motor that works in a scenario A but won’t work in scenario B.” Testing this with actual parts is extremely costly and adds significant time to product cycles.

A simulation of the drive cycle of Revolt’s semi-truck using Simulink and Simscape blocks. (Image courtesy of Revolt)

The team started by gathering extensive performance data from existing vehicles, which was obtained without incurring any cost, and formed the foundation for the simulation process. This data encompassed a variety of sources, including component and technical specifications provided by vendors, road dynamics obtained from online mapping tools such as Google Maps™ mapping service and GPX converters, and standardized EPA driving cycles. Using Simulink and Simscape, they built data-driven simulations to determine the optimal sizing and configuration for their new system. Simulink was instrumental in saving valuable cost resources for Revolt. Patil states, “As a startup, you must be nimble to understand what is required so that you don’t overwhelm in terms of cost to achieve the same results. That is where I felt simulation was key to get what we wanted.” Impressively, Revolt went from idea to prototype in just four months.

“Our rapid development was possible with MathWorks tools that are readily available. Compared to other approaches, which would have taken a year or more to get where we were in four months.” – Chandra Patil, CTO of Revolt

Integrating Simulink and Raptor®

With a solid theoretical foundation in place, the team advanced quickly to the prototyping stage. The team uses the Raptor-Dev platform and off-the-shelf ECUs from New Eagle™ in conjunction with Simulink to accelerate development. Raptor extends the Simulink environment with a seamless toolchain that allows the Revolt engineers to design, simulate, and deploy control strategies directly onto production ECU hardware, generating embedded code from Simulink with a single click.

This workflow eliminates the need for extensive hand-coding and ensures safety compliance. The streamlined, model-based process enabled the team to rapidly prototype, integrate, and test system components, making quick updates and refinements throughout development. The tight integration between Raptor and Simulink helped dramatically shorten the path from model to moving vehicle to production. “It’s clear that Revolt is leveraging innovative technologies like Raptor and MathWorks tools to accelerate their development cycles and time to market. This streamlined approach helps them adapt and iterate on their systems faster, enhancing overall development efficiency,” commends New Eagle.

The Raptor platform used for embedded code generation by Revolt. (Image courtesy of Revolt)

Now, with a fully functioning vehicle on the road, the team is entering a new phase: iterative improvement. They continue to collect operational data, feeding it back into their models to refine simulations, update control strategies, and implement new algorithms to optimize fuel savings and improve efficiency.

Supporting Resources for Innovation

When forming a startup, it’s integral to get the right people and the right tools on board. With Patil bringing the expertise and vision, he quickly set up the team with MATLAB and Simulink Suites, giving the team uncapped access to the full range of tools provided by MathWorks. “At the beginning of a startup, you don’t know what you need. Trying to get toolboxes and software licenses, and after realizing that this is not the right fit, is where I have felt quite a bit of pain in the past,” shares Patil. Providing the team with all the tools from the beginning reduced a lot of friction in development time. The startup program enabled Revolt to predict future needs. Patil explains, “The startup program tells you what your budgeting needs to look like for the coming year, as I can understand what the right software suite is needed to start and continue development.”

Supplementary support is essential to utilize the full capabilities of the chosen tools. Patil shares that MathWorks online resources, such as YouTube, the file exchange, and blogs, enabled him to model their ideas. “Instead of trying to develop everything, I’m able to quickly get to a point where I have a functioning model using what MathWorks already has,” he says.

Interestingly, Patil also points to the MathWorks Student Challenge as a valuable resource. “They have quite a bit of information – a new approach to the same problem is what intrigued me,” he describes, “As I kept on reading, I was consciously or subconsciously implementing the stuff that’s presented in my development.”

For Revolt, MathWorks tools aren’t just part of the workflow—they’re the backbone of a fast, data-driven, and continually improving development process that is taking their technology from concept to commercial reality quickly.

The Road Ahead

The team at Revolt is passionate about its technology, motivating the small team. “It’s amazing to see what a small group of really talented people can do. It’s incredible to watch the speed of innovation as the team created an entirely new system in just over two months,” Gardner concludes.

They are embarking on their next milestones over the coming months, including ride-and-drive events to showcase the technology to industry experts focused on clean technologies. Simultaneously, they are completing phase three of their development with the goal of publishing their production-intent vehicle and starting extended fleet trials by late 2025.

Revolt’s hybrid semi-truck. (Image courtesy of Revolt)

Gardner anticipates that this hybrid-style architecture will become more popular in the coming years. The automotive and mining industries already have similar technology, with range-extended vehicles and hybrid mining trucks standard to operators. He anticipates OEMs could grow and deploy this technology across their fleets.

Patil is excited to see what they are building become a reality. “Coming from the traditional world, you can work for the right requirements, the right design, do all the code in C and C++, and by the time you realize what you have done, you are almost out of the company. The product lifecycle can be so long that you don’t see what you have done.” He wraps up saying, “With rapid prototyping tools and simulation like MathWorks platform, I’m so happy that what I designed I was able to see drive on the road in less than six months. I’m a true believer in this development lifecycle.”

Learn more about Revolt: https://www.revoltmotors.io/

Learn more about New Eagle: https://neweagle.net/

Learn more about MathWorks Startup Program: https://www.mathworks.com/products/startups.html