Riders on the sun
Solar car team shows off space-age tech at the auto show
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One of the otherworldly looking objects cruised the highway at over 60 mph on video screens behind the cars. In the video, an experienced driver guided the vehicle with controls more like the ones you might see in Star Wars than the steering wheels in your dad's Buick. Lying down barely 2 feet over the pavement, the driver was protected by the strongest, lightest materials available. But the driver's helmet was more familiar. It bore the same famous winged design the Michigan football team wears.
The Solar Car Team displayed its 2005 and 2001 cars at the auto show. Both of the cars on display won the national championship and took third in the world competition.
A massive collaborative effort, the team's car sports some of the latest technological advances and the work of some of the University's brightest minds.
It uses the same gallium arsenide space-grade solar cells that NASA uses instead of the cheaper silicon cells most teams use.
The Solar Car Team is made up of more than just engineers. It includes business majors and LSA students who develop marketing strategies to help cover the massive startup costs. Project Leader Brian Ignaut is quick to point out that the engineers can't build the car without funding.
During the auto show, students like Business sophomore Keyvan Mirsaeedi, the team's head of corporate relations, walked around visiting booths, handing out information packets and asking for support.
Ignaut said students who work on the project often get several job offers from major engineering and auto industry companies.
With a budget of more than $1.8 million, the 2005 car featured sponsorship decals from some of the world's biggest corporations. The logos of General Motors, Ford, Motorola and Shell dot the car.
Continuum -the team's car currently in production - has a budget of over $2.2 million.
The budget must withstand the whims of both fate and bureaucracy. Halfway though the 2007 car's design process, Ignaut said, many regulations for the World Solar Challenge in Australia were changed. The changes were so drastic that the entire project had to be scrapped and the team had to start over after about a year of work.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Ivan
posted 1/23/07 @ 4:44 PM EST
The cars are street-legal in Texas (different states have different requirements; Texas happens to have some of the least strict). Fully electric cars are available to consumers who want them. (Continued…)
Patrick Kilhoffer
posted 1/23/07 @ 11:32 AM EST
I think it's great that they are trying to make it more realistic. I would like to see them require that the cars be street legal and that they comply with current safety standards. (Continued…)